Terrestrial Ecology and Conservation

Examination of the rain forest and sclerophyll ecosystems in far north Queensland. Methodology for classification of key terrestrial ecosystems in lectures and then use of multiple field-based techniques to put theory to the test in the field. Ecosystem health is assessed using bioindicators under differing fire regimes and disturbance levels. Globally, terrestrial ecosystems and their associated fauna are affected by many of the same anthropogenic impacts and these are explored using Australian case studies and hands-on field activities. How both the plants and animals of Australian ecosystems came to be so utterly unique, in the context of the long evolution of 'the island continent' from the prehistoric rain forests that once covered the ancient super-continent of Gondwana