electiveHQ

This course provides an introduction to the concepts of biogeography and the practicalities of field-based research. A short lecture series discusses how species' ranges vary at different ranges in space and time, outlines the major biogeographic regions and biomes, describes global patterns of species' diversity for a range of taxa and discusses how those patterns arise. The faunas of Ireland and Spain are then introduced in preparation for comparisons made on the basis of a field course in Ireland (part of ENVB30010 Systems Ecology) and a 6 day field course in southern Spain. This field course involves 3 days' sampling marine, freshwater and terrestrial habitats and 3 days' independent project work.