Life Sciences Undergraduates Track Biodiversity From Home

The 143 first-year BSc Biological Sciences students at Imperial College London would normally have found themselves at this time of year getting ready to explore the natural world, with assignments that would improve their understanding of biodiversity.

But with the coronavirus pandemic, and lockdown measures being introduced, chances to be ‘in the field’ and to study wildlife in their natural habitats vanished. The facility staff, adapting to remote working, quickly adjusted the module to offer a ‘Virtual Field Course’ for students.

The first task, the ‘Dawn Chorus’ project, begins in May 2020, and students, when it is safe to do so, are encouraged to record birdsong when they are out and about, or simply in their own gardens, noting variables such as time of day and weather.

Professor Emma McCoy, Vice-Dean (Education) in the Faculty of Natural Sciences, said: “In these uncertain times we could all be forgiven for feeling cut-off from the outside world. If you’re studying a Life Sciences programme at the College you likely feel doubly unsettled by our sudden alienation from nature.

“This refreshed module is a great example of what remains possible when the right expertise is combined with a focus on offering students enjoyable learning experiences, regardless of the global challenges we face.

“Through our campuses and our remote and online offerings, we look forward to providing current and new students fresh perspectives in their chosen disciplines.”

Students all across the globe are comparing bird diversity in many different habitats by counting the number of species heard in their recordings of bird song. Based on the data collected, species richness and diversity can be compared across different habitats.

Students will be using a single digital platform to upload their bird song data, but have been encouraged to delve deeper into identifying the species behind the audio recordings.

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