Outline

Overview

This unit of study will introduce students to current research undertaken in various disciplines of marine science in Australia. It will be a multi-institutional unit taught at the Sydney Institute of Marine Science (SIMS) with contributions from the four University partners of SIMS. Lectures and tutorials will be taught by leading marine science researchers. Topics will cover physical and biological oceanography, climate change, molecular ecology, aquaculture, marine biology and marine geosciences. In practical classes, students will analyse and interpret remote-sensing data from the Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS), which provides comprehensive information on the biological and physical processes of Australia's coastal and oceanic waters.

Unit details and rules

Academic unit	Geosciences Academic Operations
Credit points	6
Prerequisites ?	None
Corequisites ?	None
Prohibitions ?	None
Assumed knowledge ?	None
Available to study abroad and exchange students	No

Teaching staff

Coordinator	Ana Vila Concejo, ana.vilaconcejo@sydney.edu.au
Lecturer(s)	Ana Vila Concejo, ana.vilaconcejo@sydney.edu.au

Assessment

The census date for this unit availability is 2 April 2024

Details
Criteria

Type	Description	Weight	Due	Length
Assignment	Written assignments on Practical Modules Based on results of exercises completed as part of the practical modules.	60%	Multiple weeks	Varies
Outcomes assessed:
Online task	Final test 20 multiple choice questions and five short answer questions	40%	Week 11	2 hours
Outcomes assessed:

Assessment summary

Written assignments on Practical Modules (60%): You are required to hand in written assignments based on the results of exercises completed as part of the practical modules. These will be submitted as an electronic report before the beginning of the practical class the week following the module's conclusion, or as instructed by the lecturer. Reports will include graphs and figures as well as interpretation of your results in the broader context of the topic. Most practical modules are worth 10%. Note some of the modules may be assessed over multiple weeks and will be worth 20% (Physical Oceanography module). The results of the IMOS practical (Week 1) are not assessed.
Exam: The exam is worth 40% of your total mark. The exam format will be 20 multiple choice questions based on the seminar series and five short answer questions addressing the practical modules you have worked on during the semester. More details will be forthcoming closer to the date.

Detailed information for each assessment can be found on Canvas.

Assessment criteria

The University awards common result grades, set out in the Coursework Policy 2014 (Schedule 1).

As a general guide, a high distinction indicates work of an exceptional standard, a distinction a very high standard, a credit a good standard, and a pass an acceptable standard.

Result name	Mark range	Description
High distinction	85 - 100	At High-distinction level, a student demonstrates a flair for the subject as well as a detailed and comprehensive understanding of the unit material. A ‘High Distinction’ reflects exceptional achievement and is awarded to a student who demonstrates the ability to apply their subject knowledge and understanding to produce original solutions for novel or highly complex problems and/or comprehensive critical discussions of theoretical concepts.
Distinction	75 - 84	At Distinction level, a student demonstrates an aptitude for the subject and a well developed understanding of the unit material. A ‘Distinction’ reflects excellent achievement and is awarded to a student who demonstrates an ability to apply their subject knowledge and understanding of the subject to produce good solutions for challenging problems and/or a reasonably well-developed critical analysis of theoretical concepts.
Credit	65 - 74	At CR level, a student demonstrates a good command and knowledge of the unit material. A ‘Credit’ reflects solid achievement and is awarded to a student who has a broad general understanding of the unit material and can solve routine problems and/or identify and superficially discuss theoretical concepts.
Pass	50 - 64	At PS level, a student demonstrates proficiency in the unit material. A ‘Pass’ reflects satisfactory achievement and is awarded to a student who has threshold knowledge.
Fail	0 - 49	When you don’t meet the learning outcomes of the unit to a satisfactory standard.

For more information see guide to grades.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

Academic integrity

The Current Student website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for further investigation.

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and automated writing tools

You may only use generative AI and automated writing tools in assessment tasks if you are permitted to by your unit coordinator. If you do use these tools, you must acknowledge this in your work, either in a footnote or an acknowledgement section. The assessment instructions or unit outline will give guidance of the types of tools that are permitted and how the tools should be used.

Your final submitted work must be your own, original work. You must acknowledge any use of generative AI tools that have been used in the assessment, and any material that forms part of your submission must be appropriately referenced. For guidance on how to acknowledge the use of AI, please refer to the AI in Education Canvas site.

The unapproved use of these tools or unacknowledged use will be considered a breach of the Academic Integrity Policy and penalties may apply.

Studiosity is permitted unless otherwise indicated by the unit coordinator. The use of this service must be acknowledged in your submission as detailed on the Learning Hub’s Canvas page.

Outside assessment tasks, generative AI tools may be used to support your learning. The AI in Education Canvas site contains a number of productive ways that students are using AI to improve their learning.

Learning support

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

Support for students

The Support for Students Policy 2023 reflects the University’s commitment to supporting students in their academic journey and making the University safe for students. It is important that you read and understand this policy so that you are familiar with the range of support services available to you and understand how to engage with them.

The University uses email as its primary source of communication with students who need support under the Support for Students Policy 2023. Make sure you check your University email regularly and respond to any communications received from the University.

Learning resources and detailed information about weekly assessment and learning activities can be accessed via Canvas. It is essential that you visit your unit of study Canvas site to ensure you are up to date with all of your tasks.

If you are having difficulties completing your studies, or are feeling unsure about your progress, we are here to help. You can access the support services offered by the University at any time:

Support and Services (including health and wellbeing services, financial support and learning support)
Course planning and administration
Meet with an Academic Adviser

Weekly schedule

WK	Topic	Learning activity
Week 01	1. Welcome; 2. Course overview/expectations/computing; 3. Introduction to the AODN Ocean Portal	Workshop (3 hr)
Week 01	Marine microbes around Australia	Seminar (1 hr)
Week 02	Introduction to R	Workshop (3 hr)
Week 02	Whales	Seminar (1 hr)
Week 03	Animal tracking	Workshop (3 hr)
Week 03	An overview of research at SIMS	Seminar (1 hr)
Week 04	Animal tracking	Workshop (3 hr)
Week 04	Climate change	Seminar (1 hr)
Week 05	Physical oceanography	Workshop (3 hr)
Week 05	Coastal ocean dynamics	Seminar (1 hr)
Week 06	Physical oceanography	Workshop (3 hr)
Week 06	Restoration ecology	Seminar (1 hr)
Week 07	Physical oceanography	Workshop (3 hr)
Week 07	Marine palaeontology	Seminar (1 hr)
Week 08	Statistics for marine science in R	Workshop (3 hr)
Week 08	Reef management	Seminar (1 hr)
Week 09	Zooplankton	Workshop (3 hr)
Week 09	Ecology of coastal tropical sharks	Seminar (1 hr)
Week 10	Zooplankton	Workshop (3 hr)
Week 10	Threatened species management	Seminar (1 hr)
Week 11	Autonomous underwater vehicles/benthic ecology	Workshop (3 hr)
Week 11	Geoscience	Seminar (1 hr)

Attendance and class requirements

Due to the exceptional circumstances caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, attendance requirements for this unit of study have been amended. Where online tutorials/workshops/virtual laboratories have been scheduled, students should make every effort to attend and participate at the scheduled time. Penalties will not be applied if technical issues, etc. prevent attendance at a specific online class. In that case, students should discuss the problem with the coordinator, and attend another session, if available.

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 6 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 120-150 hours of student effort in total.

Required readings

ADDITIONAL READINGS

Most weeks, we will provide journal articles for you to read which have direct relevance to your practical classes. In addition, you may wish to look for papers written by the lecturers or referenced in their seminars. If you have trouble accessing a particular paper please don’t hesitate to email the course coordinator to see if they have access. Make sure you try through your university library first though. If you are not on campus, you will need to log-in but this should give you access to everything the university has access to. Some additional books you may find interesting (try the university library):

Biological Oceanography (2012) by Charles B. Miller and Patricia A. Wheeler http://au.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-EHEP002684.html
Dynamics of Marine Ecosystems: Biological-Physical Interactions in the Oceans (3rd Ed) by Kenneth Mann and John Lazier http://au.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-1405111186.html
Marine Ecology (2007) by Sean Connell and Bronwyn Gillanders http://www.oup.com.au/titles/higher_ed/science/biological_sciences/9780195553024

ASSUMED KNOWLEDGE

This course is data-intensive. You will be downloading, manipulating and analysing datasets with many thousands of observations. As a result, you need to be proficient in the use of software programs such as Microsoft Excel and basic statistics. We provide below a list of the minimum assumed knowledge to allow you to get the most out of the course. If you are not comfortable with these topics, please spend some time working through the online tutorials we have outlined below.

Sort and Filter Data: https://support.office.microsoft.com/en-au/article/Watch-online-ffb9fcb0-b9cb-48bf-a15c-8bec9fd3a472

Doing Calculations and writing formulas in Excel: https://support.office.microsoft.com/en-au/article/Watch-online-e05703f5-7150-44c1-8a52-307738266821

Averaging Data: https://support.office.microsoft.com/en-au/article/Watch-online-6cced0be-ca49-41c8-a3f2-cb89e566ab90

Plotting in Excel: https://support.office.microsoft.com/en-au/article/Watch-online-4d95c6a5-42d2-4cfc-aede-0ebf01d409a8

Pivot Tables: https://support.office.microsoft.com/en-au/article/Watch-online-7810597d-0837-41f7-9699-5911aa282760

Descriptive statistics - In particular, understanding the mean, standard deviation, standard error and the normal distribution. Many videos can be found here: https://www.khanacademy.org/math/probability/descriptive-statistics

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

Outcomes
Graduate qualities

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

LO1. understand the diversity of Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS) data and instrumentation types for data collection
LO2. access and manage large open-source data sets using online tools and software
LO3. formulate and test hypotheses using critical thinking and an evidence-based approach, on topics related to ocean and climate change and variability, major boundary currents, continental shelf processes and biological responses
LO4. critically analyse and interpret large data sets using a variety of software programs and tools specifically developed for the unit on the marine environment
LO5. understand and apply knowledge of recent marine research on physical and biological oceanography, climate change, molecular ecology, aquaculture, marine biology and marine geosciences in Australia
LO6. communicate your results effectively through scientific reporting on your findings

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1	Depth of disciplinary expertise Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.
GQ2	Critical thinking and problem solving Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.
GQ3	Oral and written communication Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.
GQ4	Information and digital literacy Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.
GQ5	Inventiveness Generating novel ideas and solutions.
GQ6	Cultural competence Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.
GQ7	Interdisciplinary effectiveness Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.
GQ8	Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.
GQ9	Influence Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes	Graduate qualities
Learning outcomes

Responding to student feedback

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

No changes have been made since this unit was last offered.

Additional information

How to get to SIMS and where to park

You can travel to SIMS by public transport or by car.

Buses (no. 244) leave from the QVB, York St or from Wynyard Station, Carrington St. The bus stops directly opposite the SIMS Building 19 where your prac classes take place (large conference room). For the timetable please check http://www.transportnsw.info/

Many Sydney buses are pre-paid so make sure you purchase a ticket at the newsagent beforehand. Use an Opal Card for multiple trips. http://www.transportnsw.info/sites/en/tickets/index.page#opalcardtable

If you decide to drive to SIMS please ensure you arrive at class on time. A map of how to get to SIMS is available on the SIMS website www.sims.org.au

Parking is available at an hourly rate or if you have a valid national parks sticker you can park for free for up to 4 hours in designated areas.

Alternatively you can park up in Headland Park, Georges Heights and walk down through the bush. See the course convenor if you need further information.

Science student portal

Work, health and safety

We are governed by the Work Health and Safety Act 2011, Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 and Codes of Practice. Penalties for non-compliance have increased. Everyone has a responsibility for health and safety at work. The University’s Work Health and Safety policy explains the responsibilities and expectations of workers and others, and the procedures for managing WHS risks associated with University activities.

General Laboratory Safety Rules

No eating or drinking is allowed in any laboratory under any circumstances
A laboratory coat and closed-toe shoes are mandatory
Follow safety instructions in your manual and posted in laboratories
In case of fire, follow instructions posted outside the laboratory door
First aid kits, eye wash and fire extinguishers are located in or immediately outside each laboratory
As a precautionary measure, it is recommended that you have a current tetanus immunisation. This can be obtained from University Health Service: unihealth.usyd.edu.au/

Disclaimer

The University reserves the right to amend units of study or no longer offer certain units, including where there are low enrolment numbers.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.

Current students

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Support for students

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Additional information

Additional information

Work, health and safety

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect

Current students

MARS5009: Topics in Australian Marine Science

Semester 1, 2024 [Normal day] - Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Support for students

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Additional information

Additional information

Work, health and safety

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect