ECTS
4 credits
Component
Faculty of Science
Description
This course aims to introduce first year undergraduate students to the living world through a naturalist approach. This approach consists of studying the animals and plants that make up Mediterranean ecosystems through their taxonomy, ecology and biology. Students will be interested in different groups of organisms, including vascular plants, birds, amphibians and reptiles, insects and bats.
Objectives
The objective of this course is to introduce the diversity of living organisms through the discovery of different plant, animal and other organisms. The students will work on all the taxonomic groups proposed in the course, in order to discover a wide range of organisms, the key facts (at various levels [ecology, biology, ecosystem services, diseases, etc.]), the tools to study them, and the conservation issues. For this, the naturalistic approach will be at the center of the practical work carried out in the classroom and on the university grounds. This will be done through :
- the development of a "Naturalist Sense": to transmit to the students a taste of wonder for the living, as well as the curiosity which leads to detect and identify in the environment the elements of interest.
- observation and collection, which will introduce the notion of sampling and the difficulties of studying life in nature. Data collection (and archiving) will be approached through (among other things) citizen science programs (such as online databases like iNaturalist and Observado).
- support field findings with bibliographic research on organisms in order to link these observations to biological, ecological and evolutionary characteristics of organisms.
A field trip to a natural area near Montpellier (e.g. the Marais de Lattes Nature Reserve) will conclude the course.
Necessary pre-requisites
- motivation to discover the natural sciences
- no technical requirements
Recommended prerequisites*:
Strong interest in the study of nature.
Knowledge control
The evaluation will be carried out at 100 % in continuous control, under the direction of the teaching team responsible for the UE. Two sessions will be proposed. The evaluation will include two parts: a presentation on an organization of the student's choice among those proposed in the course, and a Multiple Choice Questionnaire (MCQ).
The UE is open to two groups of TD, representing a maximum of 80 students. It is compulsory for the students who wish to follow the naturalist UEs of the second and third year of the licence.
Syllabus
The course materials will mix traditional presentations (.pdf) with other materials, including internet (collaborative data sharing sites).
Additional information
Hourly volumes* :
CM : 4,5
TD : 12
TP : 12
Land : 6
Manager* : Guillaume Papuga and Franck Richard
Administrative contact(s):