Subject description for 2019/2020

Ecosystem Resilience (BI313F)

Ecosystem Resilience

BI313F

Course description

High North ecosystems support extraordinarily rich marine resources, which provide food and wealth to local communities. The shelf water act as spawning and nursery areas for the large commercial fish stocks, but the climate threat is about to restructure traditional marine habitats. This course focuses on traditional and novel methods for analysing the dynamics and resilience of marine food webs, including quantitative approaches. Practical training in the use of different statistical methods on selected benthic biotopes will be offered.

Costs

No costs except semester registration fee and syllabus literature.

Learning outcomes

On successful completion of the course:

Knowledge

The candidate¿

  • Has advanced knowledge on theories about ecosystem resilience and stability as well as related subjects such as disturbance theory, succession, food web structure, ecosystem functioning and management approaches
  • Has specialized insights in resilience and stability of marine ecosystems
  • Can apply the knowledge to different new aspects within the research field

Skills

The candidate¿

  • Can critically analyse scientific information and debate about it in a group using scholarly arguments
  • Can analyse existing theories about ecosystem resilience and apply knowledge independently on scientific and practical problems

 

General Competence

The candidate¿

  • Can communicate about scientific findings and conclusions to audiences with various background
  • Can critically reflect alone and in a group on scientific findings and carry out independent and advanced project work
  • Masters the terminology used in the field of ecosystem dynamics research

Course type

Elective: MSc in Marine Ecology.

Prerequisites

Students qualified for admission to MSc in Marine Ecology og MSc in Aquaculture are eligible for this course.

Mode of delivery

Face-to-face teaching.

Teaching activities and methods

The course has multiple teaching approaches.

Course evaluation

Course evaluation: Mid-term oral evaluation with written report, electronic evaluation at the end of the semester.

Assessment and examinations

Compound evaluation, grading scale A-E, Beste A, Ikke bestått F
  • Home Examination, 3 days, comprises 30/100 of the grade, grading scale A-E, Beste A, Ikke bestått F.
  • Oral Examination, comprises 70/100 of the grade, grading scale A-E, Beste A, Ikke bestått F.

Course literature

The reading list can be found in Leganto
Course coordinator
ECTS Credits 5 Course location Bodø Faculty
Faculty of Biosciences and Aquaculture