What is an individual?
Writing essays is an efficient and effective way to move from memorization to understanding by grappling with course concepts.
Please write an essay on the topic:
How I define an individual for palaeoecological purposes
A good essay will not just answer the question, but will answer it interestingly. In this example, you would be expected to demonstrate that you understand why this question is worth asking. When might the answer not be straightforwards? (In particular, think about how the corals and bryozoans that you met in the practical might complicate the issue.) What are the implications of different definitions? (Think back to previous lectures: remember, for instance, that we might count the number of individuals to calculate the relative abundance of particular species.)
Make sure that you conclude your essay with a clear and justified statement of how you will define individuals, phrased such that your peers could use this statement to count individuals in their own material. We’ll use the consensus decision to define our class data handling protocol.
Make an essay plan, then spend no more than 45 minutes writing an essay. You should not use generative AI to shape your submitted essay – but once you have submitted your work, you might consider using AI tools to generate feedback and suggestions on your writing.
Submit the essay to my pigeon hole or by e-mail (martin.smith at durham) 24 hours before the next session.