BIO206 General Ecology

The course is connected to the following study programs

• Bachelor's Programme in Biology

Teaching language

Norwegian

Recommended prerequisites

BIO102, BIO103 and BIO111 Cell Biology and Genetics

Course contents

Energy flow through ecosystems and nutrient cycles in nature. Global climate patterns and biomes. Key themes and concepts of population and community ecology ecosystem thinking. Interactions between species and between species and their environment. Abiotic factors and examples of different adaptations to the environment of selected organisms. Exemplifying with emphasis on plants and terrestrial vegetation in selected ecosystems. Field course of training in basic field and analytical methods to identify habitats and characterize the living conditions of the organisms here. Supervised work with field report.

Learning outcomes

On successful completion of the course, the student should be able to:

• explain the basic concepts and principles of general ecological topics

• reflect on ecological patterns and apply knowledge in new context

• understand the challenges faced by organisms and appropriate adjustments based on knowledge of autocology with emphasis on terrestrial environment

• identify and characterize selected terrestrial natural environment, using simple methods of vegetation analysis and ecological studies and provide a simple representation, comparison and interpretation of results

• account for the current causes of climate change and some important consequences of these

Examination requirements

Implementation of mandatory field courses must be approved. Field report must be passed prior written exam, see Canvas for more information.

Teaching methods

Instruction is given as

• lectures

• mandatory field training

• group counseling

Please refer to the detailed semester schedule announced at baseline.

The course has an expected scope of work of 270 hours.

Evaluation

The person responsible for the course, in consultation with the student representative, decides the method of evaluation and whether the courses will have a midterm- or end of term evaluation, see also the Quality System, section 4.1. Information about evaluation method for the course will be posted on Canvas.

Assessment methods and criteria

A 3-hour written examination under supervision. Graded assessment.

Reduction of Credits

This course’s contents overlap with the following courses. A reduction of credits will occur if one of these courses is taken in addition:

Course	Reduction of Credits
BIO203 – Terrestrial Ecology	8