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Department of Conservation Biology and Entomology

Vision statement: 
Our vision is to be a Centre of Excellence in Biodiversity Conservation and Management, Pest Management and utilization of beneficial insects.
Mission statement: 
The mission of the department is to train highly qualified personnel for sustainable management of biodiversity and management of pests.
History: 
Not Published
Core Values: 
Not Published
College/Faculty/School/Department: 
College of Agriculture and Natural Sciences
About College/Faculty/Department: 
The Department of Conservation Biology and Entomology is one of the departments of the School of Biological Sciences in the College of Agriculture and Natural Sciences.  
The Management of School of Business with the old and new heads

School of Business Holds Handing Over Ceremony for new Heads of Department,Director and Coordinator

10 Aug, 2020 By louis Mensah

The School of Business has organised a handing over ceremony for the Heads of Department of Management and Human Resource Management, Centre for Entrepreneurship and Small Enterprise Development (CESED) and the Business Incubator
    
Dr. Nicodemus Osei Owusu and Dr. Nana Yaw Oppong have taken over from Dr. Abraham Ansong and Dr. (Mrs.) Rebecca Dei Mensah as Heads for the Departments of Management and Human Resource Management respectively.
    
Prof. (Mrs.) Rosemond Boohene has also taken over from Dr. (Mrs.) Mavis S. Benneh Mensah as the Director for Centre for Entrepreneurship and Small Enterprise Development (CESED), whilst Mr. Kwamena Minta Nyarku has also taken over from Dr. Edward Nii Amarteifio as the Coordinator for the University of Cape Coast Business Incubator.      

New Programmes

Presiding over the ceremony, the Dean of the School of Business, Prof. John Gatsi thanked the outgoing Heads, Director and Coordinator for their services to the School.  He said new undergraduate and postgraduate programmes they developed had been sent to the Academic Board for consideration.

The Dean charged the new Heads, Director and Coordinator to continue with the work of their predecessors started, to ensure that such programmes come on board as soon as possible. Prof. Gatsi further advised them to be guided by the 2016 Statutes of the University to ensure that Departmental Boards and all Senior Members of the Departments, played pivotal roles in decision making. 
    

Soil, Plant and Water Analysis     

Content: The course introduces students to soil/plant sampling procedure, sample preparation, soil concentration units and their conversions. It also exposes students to laboratory instruments for soil, water and plant analysis, their accuracy and sources of error. The course equips students with laboratory analysis of:

  1. Soil physical properties – Soil moisture content, field capacity and available water, wilting points, particle size distribution, bulk and particle densities, and aggregate stability.
  2. Soil chemical properties- Soil pH, organic carbon, nitrogen (total, organic & inorganic), available nitrogen forms (NH4+ & NO3-), total and available P, total and available K, CEC and exchangeable cations, exchange acidity, soil micronutrients (total and available forms) and redox potential
  3. Plant sample- Moisture content, total phosphorous, potassium, calcium and magnesium in plant ash, total nitrogen and other nutrients in wet digest, and micronutrients.
  4. Water sample – soluble salts, Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+, CO32- and electrical conductivity

 Objectives:

  1. The course seeks to give students understanding of principles in soil, water and plant analysis, interpretation and application of analytical results for soil and water management practices.
  2. It also aims at giving students understanding of the use of common laboratory analytical     

Reading materials

  1. Anderson, J.M. and Ingram, S.I. 1993 Tropical Soil Biology and Fertility. A Handbook of Methods. CAB.
  2. Klute, A. (Ed.) 1986. Methods of Soil Analysis. Part 1, Physical and Mineralogical Methods. 2nd Edn. Agronomy.
  3. Page, A.L., Miller, R.H. and Keeney, D.R. (Eds.) 1982. Methods of Soil Analysis. Part 2. Chemical and Microbiological Properties. 2nd Edn. Agronomy
  4. Tandon, H.L.S. 1995. Methods of Analysis of Soils, Plants, Water and Fertilizer. Fertilizer Dev. and Consultation Organization. New Delhi, India.
Course Code: 
ASS 813
No. of Credits: 
3
Level: 
Level 800
Course Semester: 
First Semester
Select Programme(s): 
Land Use And Environmental Science

Statistical Methods and Experimental Design

Content: The course is designed to cover elements of experimentation, principles of experimental designs, sample experimental design, some problems in experimentation and possible remedies, one sample and two-sample hypothesis, linear and non-linear models, complex relationships, analysis of covariance, probability and distribution estimation and hypothesis testing and practicals multivariate analysis.

Objectives:

  1. To expose the students to statistical concepts and methods.
  2. To equip students to be able to use appropriate computer programmes to design experiments and analyse data.

Reading materials

  1. Lindeman, H.R. 1974. Analysis of variance in Complex Experimental Designs. W.H. Freeman, San Francisco.
  2. Mead, R., Curnow, N and Hasted, A. M. 1994. Statistical Methods in Agriculture and Experimental Biology, 2nd Edn. Chapman and Hall.
  3. Snedecor and Cochran, W.G. 1989. Statistical Methods. 8th Edn. Iowa State Univ. Press. Iowa, USA.
  4. Steel, R.G.D and Torrie, J.H. 1980. Principles and Procedures of Statistics. A Biometrical Approach. 2nd Edn. McGraw Hill International Edns.
  5. Webster, R. and Oliver, M.A. 1990. Statistical Methods in Soil and Land Resource Survey. Oxford Univ. Press, Oxford, UK
Course Code: 
ASS 809
No. of Credits: 
3
Level: 
Level 800
Course Semester: 
First Semester
Select Programme(s): 
Land Use And Environmental Science
Degree Type: 
Doctor of PhilosophyDepartment of Soil Science
Programme Duration: 
3 years (Standard Entry)
About Programme: 

The programme was introduced in 1994 and has graduated many students. Though the demand for the expertise of ‘pure’ Soil Scientist has dwindled in the job market, there are applicants especially those already in the field who often opt for this ‘pure’ soil science. This is because the dependence on and curiosity about soil, exploring the diversity and dynamics of this resource continues to yield fresh discoveries and insights. New avenues of soil research are compelled by a need to understand soil in the context of climate change, greenhouse gases and carbon sequestration.

Goal / Objectives: 
  1. To make students appreciate the need to preserve soil and arable land in the world with the growing population, possible future water crisis, increasing per capita food consumption and land degradation.
  2. To expose students to the scientific principles of pollution at chemical levels and soil management in order to enable them approach environmental issues in a realistic way.

 

Career Opportunities: 

Employment Prospects of Graduates:

List of sectors of the economy that could employ graduates of the programme include:

  1. Soil Research Institute
  2. Ministry of Food and Agriculture
  3. Universities
  4. Crop Research Institute
  5. Environmental Protection Agency
  6. Multilateral organizations and Banks
  7. NGOs
Entry Requirements: 

Candidates with MSc/M.Phil. degree from a recognized University in Agriculture, Biological Science, Soil Science, Environmental Science, Land Resources Management, Renewable Natural Resources and other related Earth Sciences

Co-oporative Credit Union Presents Face Masks

UCC Co-oporative Credit Union Presents Face Masks to Hospital

10 Aug, 2020 By louis Mensah

The University Co-operative Credit Union has presented 20 boxes of face masks to the University Hospital.
    
The face masks are intended to protect the staff of the hospital from contracting COVID-19.

Speaking at the presentation ceremony, a member of the UCC Credit Union Board, Mr. Emmanuel P. Owusu, said the donation was in response to a request the Director of University Health Services (DUHS), Dr. Evans Ekanem, made during an earlier donation. He explained that the 20 boxes contained 1000 pieces of masks which he said would go a long way to protect the staff of the hospital.

Receiving the items, Dr. Ekanem expressed gratitude to the Credit Union for honouring their pledge. He said the Hospital was in dire need of the face masks and, therefore, the donation was timely. He called on other organisations and individuals to support the University in these critical times to deliver quality healthcare.

Present was Mrs. Charity Abraham who is also a member of the Credit Union Board.


 

Remote Sensing of the Environment 

Content :The course focuses on the technical issues that surround the acquisition and utilization of remotely sensed airborne and satellite images for the study of physical and human landscapes. Techniques for analysing and interpreting images for studying biological, geological, hydrological and oceanographic processes as well as human activities will be emphasised. A substantial proportion of the course will be studied in the field, and therefore students are expected to produce reports to cover their field exercises.

Objective: To expose students to advanced concepts in remote sensing and their application to local phenomena and development processes.

Reading materials

  1. Arnold, R. (1997). Interpretation of air photos and remotely sensed imagery. Upper Saddle River, NY: Prentice-Hill.
  2. Lillesand, T., Kiefer, R. W., & Chipman, J. (2014). Remote sensing and image interpretation. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
  3. Campbell, J. B., & Wynne, R. H. (2011). Introduction to remote sensing. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
  4. Schowengerdt, R. A. (2006). Remote sensing: models and methods for image processing. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier.
Course Code: 
ASS 828
No. of Credits: 
3
Level: 
Level 800
Course Semester: 
Second Semester
Select Programme(s): 
Land Use And Environmental Science

Geospatial Techniques     

Content:The main focus of this course is to equip students with ideas to use computers in managing spatial data generated from geographic phenomena. Topics include: geographic data types; spatial data models; databases, data integration, structures for organizing geographic data in GIS; and, coordinates and projections; principles and concepts in remote sensing, image classification and interpretations, satellite platforms etc. Emphasis is on proper coding procedures, identification of variables, entry of data and results, and interpretation of outcomes. There would be laboratory sessions to allow students gain hands-on experience with the application of GIS.

Objective:To equip students with the knowledge and skills in using computers in managing spatial data that has been generated from geographic phenomena.

Reading materials

1. Dewan, Ashraf M.  (2013). Floods in a megacity: geospatial techniques in assessing hazards, risk and vulnerability. New York, NY:  Springer.

2. Singh P., Thakur J. K., Kumar S., & Singh U. C. (2011) Assessment of Land Use/Land Cover Using Geospatial Techniques in a Semi-arid Region of Madhya Pradesh, India. In: J. K. Thakur, S. K. Singh, A. Ramanathan, M. B. K. Prasad, W. Gossel (eds), Geospatial Techniques for Managing Environmental Resources. Dordrecht, Netherlands: Springer.

3. Showalter, P.S. & Lu, Y. (Eds.) (2009). Geospatial Techniques in Urban Hazard and Disaster Analysis. Dordrecht, Netherlands: Springer.

 

Course Code: 
ASS 827
No. of Credits: 
3
Level: 
Level 800
Course Semester: 
First Semester
Select Programme(s): 
Land Use And Environmental Science

Computer Programming 

Content: The course introduces the students to the definition of a programme, definition of programming/software development, steps involved in programming; identifying the programming needs, programme design, programme coding, programme testing, programme documentation and programme maintenance, general of programming languages, other languages and internet programming.

Objectives:

  1. To equip students with enough computer information/languages to use as a tool for working with databases and data analysis.
  2. To provide students with enough data analysis-related hands-on-skills on the computer.

Reading materials

  1. Hutchinson, S.E. and Sawyer, S.C. 1992. Computers- the User Perspective. Iruin Incorporated, (3rd edn.)
  2. Jamsa, K. 1992. Welcome to Personal Computers. Henry Holt and Company Inc. New York
Course Code: 
ASS 826
No. of Credits: 
3
Level: 
Level 800
Course Semester: 
Second Semester
Select Programme(s): 
Land Use And Environmental Science

Soil-Plant-Water-Atmosphere Relationships 

Content: The course introduces students to soil-plant-atmosphere continuum, basic aspect of plant-water relations, water relations to plant cell and tissues, structure, function and hydraulic properties of roots, water potential and flux in the soil, plant system, root water uptake, soil water movement and transpiration, modelling water uptake by roots, plant water use efficiency, net radiation to plant canopies, estimation of total evaporation and estimation of leaf temperature.

Objective:To introduce students to the interrelationships between crops, water use and the environment.

Reading materials
1.    Brewer, R. 1988. The Science of Ecology. Sanders, New York.
2.    Enger, E.D. and Smith, B.F. 1991. Environmental Science: A Study of Interrelationships. 4th Edn. W.C. Brown Publishers
3.    Hillel, D. 1980. Applications of Soil Physics. Academic Press Inc. New York.

4.  Napier, T.L. et al., 1983. Water Resources Research: Problems and Potentials for Agriculture and Rural Communities

Course Code: 
ASS 812
No. of Credits: 
3
Level: 
Level 800
Course Semester: 
Second Semester
Select Programme(s): 
Land Use And Environmental Science

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