Outline

Overview

Aquaculture is a rapidly developing area of food production as the world faces a critical point in not being able to meet global demand for seafood. This unit of study explores in detail the husbandry of aquaculture broodstock and larval and juvenile culture techniques of finfish, molluscs and crustaceans. The biological principles of aquaculture including aquatic animal physiology, species selection, hatchery breeding and rearing and grow-out practices, aquaculture farming systems, animal health, welfare and disease and environmental impact are addressed. In this unit of study, you will attain practical skills relevant to aquaculture production and management of aquatic animals, such as animal handling, growth measures, fluid collection, health assessments and necropsy. The unit aims to inspire and motivate you through research-informed teaching and application of the principles of scientific thinking. By the end of this unit, you will be able to demonstrate an understanding of the principles of: the context of aquaculture in global food production; animal management and welfare of aquaculture species; comparative aspects of farming systems used in aquaculture; health and disease relevant to aquaculture; nutrition of aquaculture species; water quality and the environmental impact of aquaculture.

Details

Academic unit	Life and Environmental Sciences Academic Operations
Unit code	AVBS3009
Unit name	Aquaculture
Session, year ?	Semester 2, 2021
Attendance mode	Normal day
Location	Remote
Credit points	6

Enrolment rules

Prohibitions ?	AVBS4009
Prerequisites ?	6 credit points from (AVBS1002 or BIOL1XXX or GEOS1XXX or MBLG1XXX) and 6 credit points from (AVBS2XXX or BIOL2XXX)
Corequisites ?	None
Assumed knowledge ?	Fundamentals of animal husbandry and management; aquatic animal biology.
Available to study abroad and exchange students	Yes

Teaching staff and contact details

Coordinator	Joy Becker, joy.becker@sydney.edu.au

Type	Description	Weight	Due	Length
Final exam (Take-home short release)	Final exam Long answer questions (essay style)	50%	Formal exam period	3 hours
Outcomes assessed:
Presentation	Oral presentation Oral presentation	25%	Week 08	15 minutes+ 5 minutes for questions
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Annotated bibliography Critical review of literature	25%	Week 12 Due date: 16 Nov 2020 at 10:00	2000 words
Outcomes assessed:
= group assignment ? = Type D final exam ?

Oral presentation: In small groups of 2-3 students, they will prepare an informative and critical review detailing the aquaculture production of a species of their choice.
Annotated bibliography
- a) Literature critique presentation: Student groups (about five people) will be given a journal article to present to the class (10 minutes) and then the class will discuss the merits of the paper.
- b) Individually, students will find 3 articles on the same topic as they presented for the literature critique. The articles need to demonstrate an advancement on the science from the original article.
Final exam: The final exam includes information from the entire UofS, including practical and tutorial sessions. It will focus on long answer questions (essay style) with an emphasis on integrating concepts and applying to new situations relevant to many areas of aquaculture. Well planned clear, concise and succinct answers will be favoured

Detailed information for each assessment can be found on Canvas.

Assessment criteria

Result name	Mark Range	Description
High Distinction	85-100	higher achievement demonstrating novel or critical approach and application and creativity; original analysis and interpretation of information from a wide variety of scientific literature; evidence of effective strategies and commitment for reflective, lifelong learning; excellent communication of concepts and developments of arguments
Distinction	75-84	goes beyond Credit descriptor to link parts and describe their relationships to the whole topic; explores concepts from a range of perspectives, uses information and data collected from a diverse range of scientific resources; demonstrates initiative in research and reading; uses mature language and well organized; oral communication convincing , clear and interesting (if applicable)
Credit	65-74	answers all parts of the question fully and accurately; contains evidence of a broad and reasonably accurate command of subject matter; uses textbooks and other sources of scientific literature; worked effectively in a group – shared the responsibility equally (if applicable); assessment is informative, interesting and effective in communicating ideas; effective use of supporting visual aids (if applicable)
Pass	50-64	completes one aspect of the task but overall is incomplete; made only minor contribution to the task with partner (if applicable); made limited use of required sources of information; relies on textbooks, assessment does not effectively communicate main points
Fail	<50	does not address the main purpose of the task; did not participate with partner in completing the task (if applicable); poor expression or confusing and unclear; does not use external sources of information; fails to communicate effectively

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

Special consideration

If you experience short-term circumstances beyond your control, such as illness, injury or misadventure or if you have essential commitments which impact your preparation or performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Academic integrity

The Current Student website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for further investigation.

You may only use artificial intelligence and writing assistance tools in assessment tasks if you are permitted to by your unit coordinator, and if you do use them, you must also acknowledge this in your work, either in a footnote or an acknowledgement section.

Studiosity is permitted for postgraduate units unless otherwise indicated by the unit coordinator. The use of this service must be acknowledged in your submission.

Weekly schedule

WK	Topic	Learning activity
Week 01	Introduction	Lecture (2 hr)
	Fish Evolution and Diversity	Lecture (2 hr)
	Critical thinking skills	Lecture (1 hr)
Week 02	Fish form and function	Lecture (2 hr)
	Water to support life	Lecture (2 hr)
	Virtual farm tour online	Practical (1 hr)
Week 03	Tutorial #1 - CC	Tutorial (5 hr)
	Aquaculture P&P I RE: Wk 3 CC: Wk 4	Lecture (2 hr)
	Aquaculture P&P II RE: Wk 3 CC: Wk 4	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 04	Tutorial #1 - RE	Tutorial (5 hr)
Week 05	Case studies - fish	Lecture (2 hr)
	Case studies - invertebrates	Lecture (2 hr)
	Biosecurity	Lecture (1 hr)
Week 06	Tutorial #2 - RE	Tutorial (5 hr)
Week 06	Practical skills day #1 -CC	Practical (5 hr)
Week 07	Practical skills day #1 - RE	Practical (2 hr)
	Practical #2 -field trip: CC onlhy	Practical (1 hr)
	Tutorial #2 - CC	Tutorial (5 hr)
Week 08	Oral presentations	Lecture (6 hr)
Week 09	Tutorial #3 - RE	Tutorial (5 hr)
Week 10	Fish immunology	Lecture (2 hr)
	Recognizing disease	Lecture (2 hr)
	Fish welfare	Lecture (1 hr)
Week 11	Tutorial #3 - CC	Tutorial (5 hr)
Week 12	Aquaculture nutrition and genetics	Lecture (2 hr)
	Impacts of climate change	Lecture (2 hr)
	Practical #3: field trip - CC	Practical (5 hr)
Week 13	Post harvest and food safety	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 13	Exam review	Lecture (2 hr)

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 6 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 120-150 hours of student effort in total.

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University’s graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

Outcomes
Graduate qualities

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

LO1. Determine the importance of the production of aquatic animals and plants in the context of domestic and global food resources
LO2. Apply the principles of animal husbandry (including areas of animal biology, health, nutrition, reproduction, genetics and growth) to management of the welfare and productivity of aquaculture species
LO3. Critique different types of aquaculture production models that are commonly used in Australia and internationally for the production of food fish and non-food fish.
LO4. Appraise the management of an aquaculture facility and formulate strategies to improve production with respect to all aspects of aquatic animal husbandry
LO5. Conduct work independently and in teams to locate, critically evaluate and analyse scientific literature and communicate effectively in a variety of ways to a variety of audiences
LO6. Implement skills and knowledge with a focus on the health, safety and welfare of aquatic animals

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1	Depth of disciplinary expertise Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.
GQ2	Critical thinking and problem solving Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.
GQ3	Oral and written communication Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.
GQ4	Information and digital literacy Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.
GQ5	Inventiveness Generating novel ideas and solutions.
GQ6	Cultural competence Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.
GQ7	Interdisciplinary effectiveness Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.
GQ8	Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.
GQ9	Influence Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes	Graduate qualities
Learning outcomes

Closing the loop

This is the first time this unit has been offered.

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Current students

Overview

Details

Enrolment rules

Teaching staff and contact details

Assessment

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Special consideration

Academic integrity

Weekly schedule

Study commitment

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Closing the loop

Additional information

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect

Current students

AVBS3009: Aquaculture

Overview

Details

Enrolment rules

Teaching staff and contact details

Assessment

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Special consideration

Academic integrity

Weekly schedule

Study commitment

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Closing the loop

Additional information

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect