654-309 Field Biology of Marsupials & Monotremes

Zoology 654-202, 606-205 and 654-204 or equivalent and at least 25 points of third year zoology subjects. Students who do not have a pass in all prerequisites must seek permission from the coordinators.

This subject provides a combined lecture and field course to give an overall perspective on the biology of marsupials and monotremes. By the completion of the course, students should have developed an appreciation of the physiology, reproduction, behaviour, ecology and genetics of these mammals and understand how these characteristics have developed in the evolutionary and biogeographical histories of Australia and South America. Students will also learn to identify the major marsupial and monotreme families, and some of the techniques for studying these animals in captivity and in the wild. This subject also covers the basic taxonomic features of modern marsupials and monotremes, the separate radiations of marsupials in Australia and South America, and the relationships between the three groups of extant mammals. The reproductive and developmental biology of marsupials and monotremes separates them markedly from each other and from eutherian mammals, and this subject puts particular emphasis on their study. We also show how studies of marsupials provide unique opportunities for understanding mammalian biology generally.

A 3-hour end-of-semester written examination. Up to 6000 words of practical and excursion/field reports. Continuous assessment of practical exercises and laboratory problems.