Requisites: AND Pre-requisite: An appropriate level of skill in identifying organisms to species level AND AND Pre-requisite: [Module ENV09107] Ecological Field Studies AND Pre-requisite: [Module ENV08108] Practical Skills in Biodiversity and Ecology

In this module you will develop practical skills in habitat assessment through fieldwork and develop practical skills in data manipulation using geographic information systems (GIS) software. You will become familiar with habitat classification schemes for freshwater, marine and terrestrial habitats and practice these in the field. You will report the findings of field surveys and other data-gathering exercises for habitat assessment and interpret the reports of others. Ordnance Survey (OS) maps and global positioning systems (GPS) will help you to integrate field and desk studies, plan field surveys, navigate in the field and collect spatially-referenced data.You will explore a range of data sources to assess the habitats and species present in the local area and more widely; understand the benefits and limitations of these datasets and contribute your own data to national databases. Developing expertise in GIS will enable you to retrieve previously-collected datasets, overlay these on a base map and interrogate them; identify areas with a high frequency of features of conservation interest and upload information from GPS handsets or apps to display spatial data collected in the field.You will examine criteria for habitat suitability for selected groups of organisms, strategies for monitoring habitats in protected areas and the law protecting habitats and areas of special conservation interest.

Upon completion of this module you will be able to

LO1: Implement habitat surveys of terrestrial, marine and freshwater habitats and report your findings.

LO2: Collate, interrogate and summarise spatial data.

LO3: Interpret the conservation value of a site from a range of data sources.