Marine Biology Level 3

About this Marine Biology Level 3 Course

In our Marine Biology Level 3 course you will gain an understanding of the variety of marine life found on Earth. We will study habitats and wildlife in oceans from coral reefs and algae to large ocean predators. Human conservation and impact is a big part of the course which will be fully explained to increase your awareness of how we interact with natural ocean ecosystems.

Upon completion of this course students receive a Quality Licence Scheme certificate and an OLC Certificate. All certification fees are included in your course fees.

Marine Biology Level 3 Certification

To complete this Marine Biology Level 3 course you will need to submit, and pass, all of the tutor marked assignments. There are six assignments in the course and no need to purchase any textbooks as we provide all of the lessons and materials required to learn the syllabus. All assignments are coursework based and are in an essay/question and answer style to test your knowledge of the topics covered in each of the course sections.

Course Content

This course assesses the following units:

Unit 1: The Physical Ocean

In this, the first unit of the course, we explore how the oceans came to be as they are today, how the movement of land masses on the planet shaped them and created separate seas and oceans and how the delicate balance of chemicals in seawater makes it ideal for supporting life. We also discover ways in which we can describe different areas and zones of the ocean using distinguishing features.

Unit 2: Evolution in the oceans

One of the most enduring theories of how life first emerged on our planet suggests that it happened deep in the young planet’s changing seas. Initially acidic, devoid of oxygen and uninhabitable, it is thought that specialist bacteria that were adapted to these harsh conditions gradually changed the oceans; adding oxygen, removing sulphur and removing acid until there was an explosion of new lifeforms with weird and wonderful body plans and adaptations to survive in different parts of the ocean. We expand on this idea in this unit, considering how life might have blossomed from those early bacteria. We encounter some of the scientists whose work continues to develop our understanding of where life came from, and we explore how life evolved before evaluating the idea of the survival of the fittest and the origin of the species. We will also use a system called taxonomy, that we use to neatly identify organisms and distinguish them from one another.

Unit 3: Marine habitats

In this unit we explore the conditions and the challenges facing the inhabitants in three very different marine environments. The intertidal, the ocean’s fringes where the land meets the sea, the lightless abyss of the aphotic zone and the deep, barren pelagic zone. Much of the ocean is classified as pelagic, and we will discover the enormous distances that pelagic animals must cover simply in search of their next meal or a mate with whom to reproduce.

Unit 4: Ocean extremes

At opposite ends of the temperature scale, the poles and equatorial, tropical regions are extreme environments for entirely contrasting reasons. In this topic, we will discover how the North and South poles of our planet are far more different than they initially seem. We will also explore how tropical environments lend themselves to the emergence of remarkable coral reefs

Unit 5: Marine organisms

In the previous two units, we have looked at some of the relationships between different types of organisms within a marine ecosystem. In this unit you will explore more about the animals and the species that fill these different ecological niches and roles, how they are suited to their position in their food chain and how they have adapted to suite their environment.

Unit 6: Human impact and conservation

It is now very much common knowledge that over human history, we have done untold damage to our environment. From polluting the atmosphere, damaging the protective ozone layer, and creating acid rain that eats away at rock and kills plants, to pollution of rivers from the runoff of fertilisers and pesticides used on farmland. But if there is one place where our impact has been felt more than any other, it is in our oceans. In this final unit of the course, we explore the impact we have had on our oceans, identifying causes and implications of different types of damage, but crucially investigating how we can fix this and protect our oceans for future generations.

Online study and instant enrolment

All of our students are given access to our Online Campus through their own personal login and password. As soon as you complete your enrolment, you would have immediate access to your account which allows you to make a start working through the lessons. Tackle your assignments as your own pace and contact your tutor to access any help and support you need. The course itself is set out in a very simple layout, making it easy to work through the topics and complete your assessments.

Our Online Campus includes:

• Instant enrolment – access everything on your course from the moment you enrol.
• Personal account logins – login any time, 24/7.
• Full support throughout – message your tutor, use our online chat or give us a call.
• Online assignment submissions – upload work online from the comfort of home.
• Self-led learning – study at your own pace so you can pass much faster.
• Safe e-portfolio system – store all of your work in your account.
• Progression tracking – easily see what assignments you have left to complete.
• Details help centre – get instructions and guidance every step of the way.
• Unlimited attempts – submit as many attempts at your assignments as you need.

Unlimited assessment submissions

All of the assessments for this course are completed through our Online Campus. You can attempt each one as many times as needed to ensure you pass. After every attempt, your tutor will provide detailed feedback and tips on how you can improve going forward. Quickly see your progress during your studies by checking your progress bar and seeing the remaining assessments you need to complete.

Get full tutor support

Throughout your enrolment with the Online Learning College, you can access support at any time you need. All students are assigned a personal tutor who will mark all of your work and provide detailed feedback after every submission. Your tutor will be an industry expert with a full knowledge of the course content and will be able to help you at any point along your learning journey. One of the best tools at your disposal is your tutor – you can ask as many questions of them as you wish to and they will be happy to help at any time.

We also have a brilliant support team on hand and available through email, online chat and over the phone. This team is there to help with any questions which are more generic, such as providing support in submitting work through your account or getting your certificate when you have completed your course. We pride ourselves on ensuring the support you receive is the best in the business – help and guidance is fast and detailed every time you contact a member of the team.

Assessments

To pass this course learners must pass 6 assignments. These are completed after navigating through the corresponding lessons and writing your answers to assignment questions. Once these have been read and marked by your personal tutor, feedback and marks are provided to students which contain helpful tips to improve work in future assignments.

Enrolment Length

All of our courses are allocated plenty of time for students to complete their studies and all materials are self-led so that you can complete the course at your own pace, but you have access to the course on the Campus for 12 months from your enrollment date. Should you require additional time on one of our courses you can extend your enrolment by 30 days for an additional fee of £60. As well as this we operate a 14 day money back guarantee on every one of our qualifications- that’s how confident we are of how you will love studying with us!