26 lectures, 39hrs practicals, 32 hrs field work

Staff:

Dr Jamie Seymour, Prof. Rhondda Jones, Mr Michael Pieloor

The course will cover the systematics, ecology (both applied and theoretical) and general biology of terrestrial arthropods (excluding terrestrial crustaceans) including the insects, arachnids and myriapods. This is an enormous field, so the coverage of material will reflect the lecturers’ interests and fields of expertise and as such will be some what idiosyncratic!

Topics covered will include collecting, curating and identifying terrestrial arthropods; developmental and reproductive biology of insects; general biology of insects; biological control of insects; and survey techniques for terrestrial arthropods.

The course aims to teach you the following:

1. to correctly identify and curate terrestrial arthropods;
2. to be introduced to the variety of techniques used to collect terrestrial arthropods;
3. to understand the general biology of terrestrial arthropods;
4. to gain an understanding of the concepts used in insect biological control

Assessment is by

1. A 3hr theory examination (40%);
2. A 2hr practical examination (20%),
3. An insect collection (25%);
4. A Field trip project (15%).

The text for the course will be The Insects, an outline of Entomology by Gullan & Cranston. This is a good all round text written by Australian authors using Australian examples. You will find it difficult to complete the course without one. I have placed a copy in the reference section of the library for those students unable to afford to buy a copy. Copies are available from the Bookshop.

Several other texts are also essential to the course and these will be provided to you in the first lab session. Copies will be provided to you for the entire semester and you will be required to return them after your practical exam. I expect normal wear and tear to occur on the books, but if excessive damage occurs you will be expect to replace them. You are also free to buy your own copies if you would like.

Field Trip:

I will supply more information to you regarding this trip at a later date.

You are required to make a collection of 65 terrestrial arthropods (excluding crustaceans), to be handed in properly curated, classified and labelled. Insects, scorpions and spiders should be classified to at least family, other groups to order. The collection is due in on the 29^th of October at 5pm.

The collection must be accompanied by a field notebook recording the collection details for each specimen and any observations you have made about the specimen’s habitat or behaviour.

The collection must include representatives from at least 50 different families and at least 26 different orders. No duplicate specimens are allowed.

Assessment will be based on the completeness of the collection, the accuracy of your identifications, the quality of your mounting and curating skills and the usefulness of your accompanying field note book.

NB The handing in of dead onychophorans will be frowned upon, however, the handing in of live specimens will be viewed favourably!

All the equipment required to produce your collection will be supplied to you at the first lab. Again, this is yours for the duration of the course and must handed in after the prac exam. Failure to do so will result in your exam results being withheld.

Plagiarism is the appropriation of another's ideas or writings to be passed off as one's own. In its extreme form, plagiarism is the wholesale copying of another's piece of work. However, failure to acknowledge the sources of non-original material which is incorporated in an assignment or essay also constitutes plagiarism. Verbatim quotation, close paraphrasing and the lifting of key ideas from published or unpublished work are all considered plagiarism if they are not properly referred to their sources. Always give credit to people whose work you are using by citing them in the manner used in professional scientific writing.

Plagiarism is considered by the University to be a form of academic misconduct. For details of the process and penalties associated with academic misconduct, refer to the JCU Student Handbook 1999: Faculty of Science and Engineering, Faculty of Health, Life and Molecular Sciences. Assessment items suspected of being plagiarised will be held by the Lecturer-in-charge of the course. Students involved will be advised in writing of suspected plagiarism and will be told who they can contact to discuss appeal procedures.

Plagiarism may lead to one or more of the following penalties for all offending parties (including those who have provided assessment material copied by another):

• Loss of all marks for the assessable activity;
• Loss of existing credit for the subject;
• The grade of failure for the subject;
• Disciplinary action by the Dean;
• Expulsion from the degree program

Plagiarism includes the case where several students, or a group of students work together on the preparation of the final submission of their work. This is distinct from when groups of students might work together as a group in the laboratory, or discuss the concepts and ideas involved in the general topic.

All assessable work should be assumed to be individual assignments, unless

specifically designated by the Lecturer-in-charge as a group assignment.

Lectures will be held in room A2-219 on Monday from 1400hrs to 1600hrs. Pracs will be held in room A2-114 on Monday from 0900hrs to 1200hrs.