BIOL5015 Marine Biology Surveying Techniques (Level 5) (15 credits)
The aim of this paper is for students to acquire the skill set necessary to undertake introductory biological data collection in the estuarine environment and in the intertidal or sub-tidal environments.
This paper is one of the highlights of the year and is a unique studying opportunity for students.
For those with the prerequisite diving (National Certificate in Diving (Level 3) you’ll be broken into smaller groups of 12 students and spend six days on a charter vessel conducting sub-tidal surveys of algae, invertebrate and vertebrate communities around the Mercury Islands on the Coromandel Peninsula. Often we’re visited by bottlenose dolphins and other megafauna.
For those not undertaking the diving option, a similar trip will have you undertaking the intertidal and shore-based communities experiencing some of New Zealand’s special places and gaining practical skills that creates employment opportunities for the students.
Content includes:
- Marine identification and habitat mapping
- Collection of meaningful data, either inter-tidally or sub-tidally
- Planning and risk management associated with marine surveying
- Estuarine sampling
- Equipment selection and maintenance
- Data capture, analysis and interpretation