ZOOL12009 - Invertebrate Zoology

General Information

Unit Synopsis

The invertebrates are the largest and most diverse group of animals on Earth, being found in all environments and habitats. This unit provides an overview of the biology, ecology, and taxonomy of the various invertebrate phyla, linking adaptation and evolutionary history to understand the origins and proliferation of this great diversity of life.

Details

Level Undergraduate
Unit Level 2
Credit Points 6
Student Contribution Band SCA Band 2
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.125
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites

Prerequisite

BIOL11099 Living Systems or BIOL11102 Life Science Laboratory

Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).

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Residential School Compulsory Residential School
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Unit Availabilities from Term 2 - 2025

Term 1 - 2026 Profile
Mixed Mode
Online
Rockhampton

Attendance Requirements

All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).

Assessment Overview

Recommended Student Time Commitment

Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.

Assessment Tasks

Assessment Task Weighting
1. Written Assessment 20%
2. Practical Assessment 30%
3. Online Quiz(zes) 50%

This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%).

Consult the University's Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades

Past Exams

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Previous Feedback

Term 1 - 2025 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 75.00% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 28.57% response rate.

Feedback, Recommendations and Responses

Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.

Source: email & in-person feedback
Feedback
Students noted that some lectures ran over time and that this was frustrating for their review of the lecture material.
Recommendation
Lecture content to be reviewed and updated (last done in 2021), with a focus on ensuring content runs on time.
Action Taken
Lecture content was reviewed, updated and streamlined, which ensured all lectures ran on time.
Source: in-person feedback
Feedback
Some students expressed their appreciation for the unit being offered in mixed-mode format, as it offer them opportunity for on-campus meetings when opportunities arise (e.g. residential school weeks).
Recommendation
Maintain the unit structure in the mixed-mode format.
Action Taken
Mixed-mode format was maintained.
Source: Email & in-person
Feedback
One student became somewhat frustrated at the self-directed nature of choosing a research project topic, rather than being prescribed a topic.
Recommendation
The issue was resolved with additional one-on-one communication. For the next offering, the recommendation is to offer additional and earlier options for communication with all students who may have a similar issue.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: SUTE feedback
Feedback
Commentary praised the 'at home' research task instead of an on-campus residential school.
Recommendation
Maintain the 'at-home' structure of the practical work, with appropriate levels of communication and support.
Action Taken
In Progress
Unit learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  1. Define terminology associated with the study of invertebrate zoology
  2. Describe the structural and functional organisation of animals from the various invertebrate phyla
  3. Explain the evolutionary history of the invertebrates, including their adaptations to particular environments and their ecology
  4. Identify the major invertebrate taxa and explain the evolutionary and physiological basis for the taxonomic classification of these animals
  5. Acquire practical skills in the study of invertebrates by conducting basic scientific research on invertebrate abundance, distribution, behaviour, and ecology in both field and laboratory settings.

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5
1 - Written Assessment • • •
2 - Practical Assessment • • • •
3 - Online Quiz(zes) • • • •
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5
1 - Communication • • • • •
2 - Problem Solving • • •
3 - Critical Thinking • • • • •
4 - Information Literacy • • • • •
5 - Team Work •
6 - Information Technology Competence • • • •
8 - Ethical practice •
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Assessment Tasks Graduate Attributes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
1 - Written Assessment • • • •
2 - Practical Assessment • • • • • •
3 - Online Quiz(zes) • • • •