Watercourses Online
Support for the water industry
Courses
The courses are designed to be fully interactive, via the Internet. Everything you need is available online, including:
  • study materials, photos and diagrams (all reading material is available for download)
  • scientific and technical literature via the university library's e-reserve
  • self-test quizzes
  • outlines for each module
  • technical notes to help
  • you use the online system.
Collect and submit your assignments electronically. Challenging questions invite your comment in each module. Staff and other students are available for interactive discussions via the bulletin board. Staff can also be contacted via phone.

A description of each course is included below.

Course 1: Ecology and river function

A self-paced Watercourse covering:
  • ecological patterns and processes occurring at various scales in Australian river systems
  • the role of disturbance (both natural and human) and how the ecosystems respond
  • the influence of catchment character on energy sources and food webs.
The course consists of one module, costing $440 (includes GST)

Course 2: Catchments: their character, waters & chemical composition

A self-paced Watercourse covering:
  • catchment processes that influence the chemical composition of natural waterways
  • catchment character and weathering processes that influence water chemistry
  • nutrient cycling and carbon cycling and the role of physical, biological and chemical processes
  • the importance of organic carbon in aquatic ecosystems and how it is affected by changes in the landscape.
The course consists of one module, costing $440 (includes GST).

Course 3: Waterway assessment

A self-paced Watercourse covering:
  • the basic differences between rivers, lakes and estuaries
  • why different assessment techniques are needed for each of them
  • an introduction to physical, chemical and biological methods of assessment; and how to integrate the condition assessments, e.g. for State-ofthe-Environment reporting
  • Australia's national water-quality and monitoring guidelines and how to apply them
  • collecting aquatic ecosystem data; and quality assurance and quality control to ensure data integrity.
The course consists of one module and one optional face-to-face one-day workshop. It costs $1760 (includes GST), plus $440 (includes GST) for the optional workshop.