Environmental microbiology

In this unit you will begin by examining the fundamental principles of microbial ecology and the basic methods used in this area. You will then learn the role of microorganisms in biogeochemical nutrient cycles, some important natural habitats for microorganisms such as air, fresh water and salt water with the main discussion centred on soil. Next you will learn the roles of particular soil microorganisms within their microenvironments with special attention given to microorganisms involved in transformations of carbon and nitrogen, and the role of microorganisms in composting, the management of pollution and as agents of bioremediation.

Online learning - The online learning is applied for the lecture sessions. Recorded lectures are available on Moodle. Additionally, learning resources (reading materials, lab manual, past year exam papers), and instructions to assessments (instructions, marking scheme, examples/templates, submission folder), are all be provided on Moodle.

Enquiry-based learning - The experiments for the laboratory sessions are designed as project-based learning modules. There will be one project for the entire semester, and the various sub-experiments will support the main aims of the project. You will be investigating microbes from the environment, and learn how to isolate microbes, maintain pure cultures, and investigate their activities (antimicrobial, dye degrading, enzyme production) so that they can be presented as solutions for the environment. You are to perform the experiments and collect the data to be able to understand and provide a report on microbes from the environment.

• Three hours of lectures for twelve weeks;

• Three hours laboratory practical per week for ten weeks and

• Seven hours of independent study per week