BIO413 Coastal Benthic Ecology
- ECTS Credits:
- 10
- Responsible department:
- Faculty of Engineering and Science
- Course Leader:
- Tove Margrethe Gabrielsen
- Lecture Semester:
- Autumn
- Teaching language:
- Norwegian or English
- Duration:
- 1 term
The course is connected to the following study programs
Teaching language
Norwegian or EnglishCourse contents
The course provides a thorough introduction to temperate coastal marine benthic ecosystems. The course will give more specialized insights into organisms and ecological interactions of the coastaleastern North Atlantic focusing on the Skagerrak/North Sea regions. Students will be introduced to coastal and shelf environments and benthic habitats.
Learning outcomes
Knowledge
Upon completing the course, the students will:
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understand the ecological interactions characteristic of the benthic ecosystem along the eastern Atlantic coastlines and be able to describe the dominant functional groups of this system.
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know the characteristics of temperate coastal ecosystems and how these differ from ecosystems of other biographical regions.
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be able to characterize the main marine enthic habitats, and to discuss current human influence on coastal organisms.
Skills
Upon completing the course, the students will:
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be able to identify the dominant benthic flora and fauna along the Agder coastline.
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be able to formulate hypotheses and design studies to investigate questions related to coastal ecology.
General competences
Upon completing the course, the students will:
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have acquired practical experience related to marine sampling and to relating field data to scientific questions.
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have gained experience in collaboration through group work,
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be able to synthesize and visualize their results and to present these in a scientific format.
Examination requirements
Field excursions, laboratory work and required presentations are compulsory learning activities.
Teaching methods
The course will use a combination of lectures, seminars, field work, laboratory work and group project work. The course will start with lectures and seminars/discussions to introduce students to relevant topics including the field project. 3-5 days will be spent in the field to sample material and data for student projects.
Estimated workload for the average student is 270 hours.
Evaluation
The course runs over 6 weeks and will have an end of course evaluation.
Assessment methods and criteria
The course assessment is based on a written, 3-hr exam (50%) and a report based on group work (50%). For the group report, the group as a whole is graded. The course is graded by letters (A-F).