Course Description:

The course explores patterns and processes of marine ecosystems. The main emphasis of the course is on the population and community ecology of marine ecosystems, relating such ecological knowledge to the broader context of the environmental challenges faced by marine organisms and humans on a global scale.

Lectures provide in depth understanding of concepts such as: i) the diversity of life, distribution and dispersal, principles of population growth, species interactions, primary production, decomposition and nutrient cycling in marine ecosystems, trophic dynamics and food webs, biodiversity, ecosystem stability and function, as well as disturbance and succession of communities; ii) human induced impacts on coastal and marine ecosystems, as well as an introduction to ecosystem conservation.

Discussion sessions and writing assignments serve to deepen the understanding of selected theoretical and practical concepts, approaches or applications as well as to train students in reading and writing scientific papers.

Prerequisites

Only for students in Coastal and Marine Management (MRM programme)

Learning outcomes

On completion of the course, a student:

has an understanding of the role of marine ecology in environmental and natural resource studies, marine management and decision-making.
has an understanding of the basic ecological principles of population, community and ecosystem ecology as well as the main patterns and processes of marine ecosystems.
has an understanding of the consequences of the major human induced impacts on marine ecosystems.
has gained practice in reading and writing sections of scientific papers.
can link human impacts on marine ecosystems to potential management actions.
can read most scientific papers in ecology and discuss basic ecological subjects in an oral and a written form.