ZOOL 40060 – BIODIVERSITY COLLECTIONS RESEARCH
Autumn 2008
JULIA SIGWART
INTRODUCTION
Every scientist who studies living organisms will at some point interact with archive collections.
This course offers hands-on experience in zoological collections of fossil and recent material, in
collaboration with research staff of the National Museum of Ireland, Division of Natural History
(NMINH). You can refer to the project website (http://www.ucd.ie/cobid/) for more information
about this collaboration. The course will provide an opportunity to become familiar with the
taxonomy and diversity of a particular group of animals from an archival point-of-view. Topics
covered will include biodiversity from an historical perspective; taxonomy; aspects of long-term
specimen care; modern methods and techniques in specimen collection and preparation; and
practical experience in specimen handling, identification and curation. Above all this course
aims to teach students effective research skills in using the resources available in natural history
collections.
There will be no formal written examination for this unit. Because there is no examination, the
course will run for four (4) weeks including a series of ten (10) lectures and two (2) writing
tutorials as well as three (3) workshops. Workshops focus on the development of an intensive
short research project based in UCD lab space in the scientific collections of NMINH.
Attendance at workshops, as with practicals in earlier years, is mandatory and will impact your
mark. Attendance at lectures will be monitored, and part of your mark is based on attendance
and participation.
There is no textbook for this course, but reference materials are available from the instructors
and (at your initiative) from the UCD library. Some materials may need to be requested by
interlibrary loan, and this must be done in the first 2 weeks of the course to ensure that
materials are available before the deadline for your final report.
YOU are responsible for submitting assignments on time (check the deadlines in this course
outline). Assignments must be submitted electronically as an e-mail attachment to Dr. Julia
Sigwart <julia.sigwart@ucd.ie>
An outline for the assessment of this unit is given at the end of this document.
Class hours:
Tuesday
9:00 – 10:00 am [lecture]
Wednesday 2:00 – 3:00 pm [lecture]
Thursday
9:00 – 10:-00 am [lecture]
Friday
3:30 – 6:30 pm [workshop]
Please note that there are only 3 scheduled workshop sessions, and that two lecture sessions are
replaced by assigned library time. Additional workshop time can be arranged.
museum course—page 1
ASSESSMENT
There is no formal examination for ZOOL 40060. Intensive practicals and report writing are
considered assessment criteria in lieu of an exam. The breakdown of marks is as follows:
20%
Assignments –
Marks assigned vary between the Assignments, but each is worth approximately
5% of your final mark. Assignments must be submitted electronically to Julia
<julia.sigwart@ucd.ie>. Late assignments will not receive any comments or
corrections from the instructors, and will lose marks.
This is noted in the module descriptor as “Quality of project work” as it pertains
to the assignments which contribute to your project in the Museum.
60%
Final Report
Each student will submit an individually written report (i.e. Abstract, Introduction,
Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion) reporting on curation project
procedure and results, justification for work and discussion about value of
collection (in particular project and in general), and an Appendix which includes a
complete catalogue of the group.
Draft (20% of course mark)
Materials and Methods and Results sections will be written collaboratively
between student team members as assignments during the seven-weeks of the
course (10% of course mark).
Introduction, Discussion, and Abstract sections will be written individually (20%
of course mark).
The catalogue Appendix will be prepared by the group (5% of course mark)
Formatting, spelling, and grammar will also be marked (5% of course mark)
10%
Participation
This portion of your mark reflects attendance as well as attention to detail in the
project work. Attendance to lectures, tutorials, and workshops are mandatory and
failure to attend will lose marks. Following instructions for assignments is also
marked.
10%
Self-assessment
This will follow a set template based on the stated learning outcomes and will be
marked as part of a group exercise in the final lecture session.
museum course—page 2
ASSIGNMENT DEADLINES
Assignments must be submitted electronically to Julia <julia.sigwart@ucd.ie>. Late
assignments will not receive any comments or corrections from the instructors, and will lose
marks.
Assignment 1 – project selection
Email Julia with your first and second choice selection for project taxon, and
proposed (human) group members
You must nominate one member of your group to be the “corresponding author”
responsible for submitting assignments on behalf of the group.
Due: Monday 13 October 12:00 pm
Assignment 2 – catalogue and nomenclature (team)
Complete the catalogue template with documentation for your collection,
including any changes and updates to nomenclature in your taxonomic group
Due: Wednesday 23 October 5:00 pm
Assignment 3 – biodiversity and distribution maps (team)
Complete the worksheet on biodiversity measures, including writing a short
discussion as explained in the worksheet.
Due: Wednesday 23 October 5:00 pm
Assignment 4 – abstract (individual)
Write a brief abstract (200-300 words) explaining your project and any results
to date (this abstract will not necessarily be the same as the version in your final
report, it is only a first draft)
Due: Monday 27 October 12:00 (noon)
Full draft of final paper
Due: Sunday 2 November 5:00 pm
Final paper
You must submit at electronic copy and one printed (bound) copy by the deadline
Due: Friday 12 December 5:00 pm
museum course—page 3
COURSE SCHDEDULE
Week of: 6 October
Tuesday
9 am
Wednesday
2 pm
Thursday
9 am
Friday
workshop
3:30 – 6:30
Assignment
Lecture 1
Introduction: What
museums are for
Lecture 2
Specimen preservation
13 October
Gareth away
Lecture 4
Life after death
Lecture 5
Keeping what we have
Lecture 3
Modern Museums and
Exploration
orientation
Lecture 6
Molecules and
morphology
documentation &
identification
project selection
due Mon. 13/10
catalogue &
nomenclature;
distribution maps
due Wed. 23/10
Deadlines outside of course
12/12 – Final paper (due 5:00 Friday)
museum course—page 4
20 October
27 October
Lecture 7
Tracking species
distributions
Lecture 8
Writing tutorial I,
abstracts
Lecture 9
Types & nomenclature –
how to name a species
- materials / conservation
- re-labelling specimens
Lecture 10
Species concepts
abstract
due Mon. 27/10
write-up complete
DRAFT report
due Sun. 2/11
Lecture 11
Writing tutorial II, results
and discussion
Lecture 12
course assessment
[no workshop]