Ecosystem Resilience

BI313F

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Application deadline

15. November 2024

Climate change is affecting all ecosystems around the globe and especially the high north experiences climate warming above the global average. At the same time these ecosystems harbours a divers fauna and flora that provides food and wealth (ecosystem services) to society. These natural resources are harvested or cultivated, which comes along with disturbance or even destruction of natural environments. In this course we try to understand how ecosystems are changing under pressure and what keeps ecosystems, their communities and food webs stable. We will work on the theoretical basis of ecosystem resilience and discuss the most recent findings of ecosystem stability. In addition, we will use case studies to link the properties of an ecosystem with nature management approaches based on your own experience.

Students qualified for admission to MSc in Biosciences are eligible for this course.

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 ecosystems of relevance to their specialisation
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

No costs except semester registration fee and syllabus literature.

Elective: MSc in Biosciences

The course has multiple teaching approaches.

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

Compound evaluation, grading scale Letter grades