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Nature & Environment
Studying mammals: The insect hunters
From pygmy shrews to armadillos, a wide range of mammals survive on a diet made up largely of insects. Many of these have fascinating adaptations suited to catching or rooting out their prey. In this free course, Studying mammals: The insect hunters, you will learn about these adaptations, along with survival strategies for when food is scarce. ...
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level 1: introductory icon
Nature & Environment
Neighbourhood nature
There is a fascinating world of nature all around us which we can see if we know how to look for it. Wherever you live, be it in a city or the countryside, you will find areas that support a range of wildlife. This free course, Neighbourhood nature, will provide you with basic scientific and observational skills so that you can go into your ...
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level 2: intermediate icon
Nature & Environment
Organisations, environmental management and innovation
Do you want to discover more about how organisations innovate for environmental management? This free course, Organisations, environmental management and innovation, focuses on the innovations organisations are developing or using to manage contemporary environmental issues. It also covers how organisations are innovating thinking about ...
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level 2: intermediate icon
Nature & Environment
Animals at the extremes: hibernation and torpor
Hibernation is an ingenious adaptation that some animals employ to survive difficult conditions in winter. This free course, Animals at the extremes: hibernation and torpor, examines the differences between hibernation and torpor, and discusses the characteristic signs of hibernation behaviour. It explores the triggers that bring on hibernation,...
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level 1: introductory icon
Nature & Environment
Surviving the winter
In this free course, Surviving the winter, we study one aspect of the fluctuating nature of an organisms environment. We consider how organisms living in a temperate climate, such as that in Britain, are adapted to cope with winter. You will see that there is much diversity of adaptations among organisms, with different species coping with the ...
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level 3: advanced icon
Nature & Environment
Financial methods in environmental decisions
This free course, Financial methods in environmental decisions, begins by introducing some of the tools that can be used to assess the benefits of investment decisions, including ways of assessing the ‘external costs’ – the wider costs and benefits to society as a whole – of environmental decisions.
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level 2: intermediate icon
Nature & Environment
Eutrophication
Managing eutrophication is a key element in maintaining the earths biodiversity. Eutrophication is a process mostly associated with human activity whereby ecosystems accumulate minerals. This free course, Eutrophication, explains how this process occurs, what its effects on different types of habitat are, and how it might be managed.
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level 2: intermediate icon
Nature & Environment
Environmental management and organisations
It is believed that environmental management requires action at all levels and by organisations of all types and sizes. However it is not always clear what we mean by environmental management and the role that organisations do and could play. This free course, explores the different interpretations and viewpoints involved by using system ...
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level 3: advanced icon
Nature & Environment
Effects of pollutants on the aquatic environment
Effects of pollutants on the aquatic environment is a free course. It begins with an introduction to water and goes on to briefly outline the major sources of water pollution (these being sewage works, manufacturing and industrial plants, the farming and animal husbandry sectors, landfill sites and urban surface water run-off). It considers ...
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level 2: intermediate icon
Nature & Environment
Climate change
Climate change is a key issue on today's social and political agenda. This free course explores the basic science that underpins climate change and global warming.
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level 1: introductory icon
Nature & Environment
Life in the Palaeozoic
Fossils are a glimpse into the distant past and fascinate young and old alike. This free course, Life in the Palaeozoic, will introduce you to the explosion of evolution that took place during the Palaeozoic era. You will look at the many different types of creatures that existed at that time and how they managed to evolve to exist on land.
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level 2: intermediate icon
Nature & Environment
Animals at the extremes: the desert environment
Animal life has adapted to survive in the most unlikely and inhospitable habitats. This free course, Animals at the extremes: the desert environment, looks at the surprisingly diverse desert climates throughout the world and mammals, birds, lizards and amphibians that survive there. It splits these animals into three groups according to their ...