Ecology Major

Year 2 to 3 Study Planner

Program Rules Course List

What do the different columns mean?

• Required for Major – a course required for this major
• Recommended – a course which complements the major, but can be substituted for an elective

Choose a study plan

• Terrestrial Ecology

  Year 2

  Semester	Required for Major	Recommended
  1	BIOL2006 Biostatistics & Experimental Design BIOL2010 Ecology Choose at least 2 units from: [ BIOL2015 Field Ecology1	MARS2014 Marine Science
  2	BIOL2203 Plant Biology BIOL2204 Zoology ]	BIOL2201 Evolution BIOL2202 Genetics BIOL2205 Insect Science SCIE3050 Science Industry Placement (summer semester)1

  ¹ Students may apply to undertake this course as an elective, or participate in other summer placement or research opportunities, at the end of second or third year during the summer semester.

  Year 3

  Semester	Required for Major	Required for Major
  1	Choose at least 6 units from: [ BIOL3016 Outback Ecology Field Studies1 BIOL3310 Macroecology and Biogeography BIOL3360 Analysis & Communication of Biological Data BIOL3370 Animal-Plant Interactions	Choose at least 2 units from either the courses below or any level 3 course from the Ecology list: [ BIOL3207 Animal Behaviour BIOL3209 Biodiversity Analysis, Discovery & Systematics CONS3017 Landscape Ecology
  2	BIOL3000 Conservation ]	BIOL3023 Tropical Marine Ecosystems BIOL3205 Physiological & Integrative Zoology BIOL3227 Plant Identification & Vegetation Classification BIOL3236 Climate Change Biology ]

  ¹ Students must complete at least one field-based course selected from BIOL2015 or BIOL3016 to meet the requirements for the Ecology major.

• Marine Ecology

  Year 2

  Semester	Required for Major	Recommended
  1	BIOL2006 Biostatistics BIOL2010 Ecology Choose 2 units from: [ BIOL2015 Field Ecology1 MARS2014 Marine Science ]	-
  2	-	BIOL2201 Evolution BIOL2202 Genetics BIOL2203 Plant Biology BIOL2204 Zoology BIOL2205 Insect Science SCIE3050 Science Industry Placement (summer semester)1

  ¹ Students may apply to undertake this course as an elective, or participate in other summer placement or research opportunities, at the end of second or third year during the summer semester.

  Year 3

  Semester	Required for Major	Required for Major	Recommended
  1	Choose at least 6 units from: [ BIOL3310 Macroecology and Biogeography BIOL3360 Analysis & Communication of Biological Data	Choose at least 2 units from either the courses below or any level 3 course from the Ecology list: [ BIOL3209 Organism Diversity & Evolution BIOL3340 Fish, Fisheries & Aquaculture	BIOL3211 Marine Invertebrates
  2	BIOL3000 Conservation BIOL3215 Marine Ecology & Conservation ]	BIOL3023 Marine Tropical Ecosystems BIOL3205 Physiological & Integrative Zoology BIOL3227 Plant Identification BIOL3236 Climate Change Biology BIOL3320 Vertebrate Diveristy & Evolution ]	MARS3012 Physical-Biological Oceanography Any course from Ecology course list

  ¹ Students must complete at least one field-based course selected from BIOL2015 or BIOL3016 to meet the requirements for the Ecology major.

• Evolutionary Ecology

  Year 2

  Semester	Required for Major	Recommended
  1	BIOL2006 Biostatistics BIOL2010 Ecology Choose at least 2 units from: [ BIOL2015 Field Ecology1	MARS2014 Marine Science
  2	BIOL2201 Evolution BIOL2202 Genetics ]	BIOL2203 Plant Biology BIOL2204 Zoology BIOL2205 Insect Science SCIE3050 Science Industry Placement (summer semester)1

  ¹ Students may apply to undertake this course as an elective, or participate in other summer placement or research opportunities, at the end of second or third year during the summer semester.

  Year 3

  Semester	Required for Major	Required for Major
  1	Choose at least 6 units from: [ BIOL3016 Outback Ecology Field Studies1 BIOL3310 Macroecology & Biogeography BIOL3360 Analysis & Communication of Biological Data BIOL3370 Animal-Plant Interactions	Choose at least 2 units from either the courses below or any level 3 course from the Ecology list: [ BIOL3207 Animal Behaviour BIOL3209 Organism Diversity & Evolution BIOL3390 Genome Evolution
  2	BIOL3000 Conservation ]	BIOL3205 Physiological & Integrative Zoology BIOL3236 Climate Change and Adaptation BIOL3320 Vertebrate Diversity & Evolution BIOL3350 Genetics of Complex Traits (not offered in 2019) ]

  ¹ Students must complete at least one field-based course selected from BIOL2015 or BIOL3016 to meet the requirements for the Ecology major.

What will I study?

Students who undertake a major in Ecology can choose to specialise in the following areas:

Terrestrial Ecology:
Australia’s terrestrial ecosystems contain a unique array of flora and fauna. Studying terrestrial ecology at UQ involves field trips each year – the first to Brisbane Forest Park, the second to Fraser Island and the third to either the outback or Lamington Rainforest. The goal of this specialisation is to familiarise students with the diversity of organisms in the Australian terrestrial environment, the complex interactions that occur among them and current and future threats to ecosystem function. Students will gain skills in species identification, estimating populations, manipulative experiments and data analysis. This specialisation will explore the fundamentals of ecology as well as provide the tools that are needed to conduct ecological research in terrestrial environments. This stream is ideal for those wishing to pursue a career in natural resource management, consultancy, conservation biology or of course, research in terrestrial ecology.  

Marine Ecology:
Much of Australia’s population lives on the coast and understanding the functioning of coastal marine ecosystems is vital to the long-term sustainability of Australia. Studying marine ecology at UQ involves a field trip to Stradbroke Island and Heron Island in second and third year. The goal of this specialisation is to familiarise stiudents with the vast diversity of endemic Australian marine organisms, population and community-level processes and the current threats to this valuable ecosystem. Students will gain skills in species identification, estimating populations, manipulative experiments and data analysis. This stream will explore the fundamentals of ecology and provide the necessary tools to conduct ecological research in marine environments. It is suited to those who wish to pursue a career in fisheries management, marine parks, environment consultancy, the EPA or fundamental research in marine ecology.

Evolutionary Ecology:
What are the ecological consequences of the evolution of pesticide resistance in insects? How do we manage fisheries when fish are evolving to be smaller and reproduce at an earlier age? These are issues that are addressed in the study of evolutionary ecology. This stream recognises that population dynamics are strongly influenced by evolutionary processes and current interactions are a product of historical evolutionary patterns. Studying evolutionary ecology at UQ involves field trips to the outback, Heron Island or the rainforest and emphasises the interface between ecology and evolution. The goal of this specialisation is to couple an understanding of the fundamentals of ecology with an understanding of evolutionary pattern and process. You will gain skills in working with a wide variety of Australian organisms as well as the quantitative skills necessary for ecology from an evolutionary perspective. This stream is suited to those who seek to work in federal government agencies such as CSIRO, state based agencies such as the Department of Primary Industries or the EPA, or in research at universities.