Freshwater and Marine Biology

Description

The planet we live on appears blue from space because 70% of its surface is covered by water. Water is essential to all life on Earth. However, human impacts, such as eutrophication, chemical pollution, exploitation of aquatic resources and climate change threaten the functioning, health, and services of freshwater and marine ecosystems, and ultimately human life as well.  In this course you will learn to understand the key concepts in freshwater and marine biology, analyze the effects of human impact on aquatic ecosystems, and reflect on conservation and restoration measures of aquatic ecosystems on an overpopulated and industrialized planet. You will learn the key concepts and theories – i.e. how do freshwater and marine ecosystems function - through lectures, flipped classrooms, prescribed scientific papers, and a textbook.  The relevant questions in the field – i.e. how do human activities threaten freshwater and marine ecosystems - are addressed in highlight lectures given by experts in the field, and may address topics such as: Plastic in the ocean Climate change and ocean acidification Fragile aquatic ecosystems (e.g. coral reefs, the deep sea) Aquatic ecosystem services Harmful blooms Biodiversity, restoration & conservation – as part of an excursion to iconic human-made archipelago the Markerwadden. Each highlight lecture is followed by an interactive seminar in which students ask questions to an expert. The excursion to Markerwadden will have a slightly different format. In addition to the highlight lectures and self-study, the course is structured around a real-world issue carried out in workgroups that provides the opportunity for in-depth analysis of a human impact on (an) aquatic system(s). Objectives: After successfully completing the course, the student is able to: describe basic concepts in freshwater and marine biology, in particular those related to human impacts on aquatic ecosystems to use knowledge from basic concepts in freshwater and marine biology, to interpret how human activities threaten freshwater and marine ecosystems to use scientific knowledge to formulate a scientifically supported opinion on real world issues regarding aquatic ecosystems to engage in the social debate on environmental management issues to communicate to a wide audience to collaborate in finding, processing, combining and integrating scientific knowledge in a case study that represents a complex real-world issue in the field of aquatic science.