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Advanced theories, concepts and applications of marine ecology to current issues.
This course advances the concepts of how marine species interact with each other and the environment to form functional populations and communities. The oceans cover 71% of earth’s surface and span estuaries, nearshore rocky reefs, deep-water benthic communities, and the surface and deeper waters of the open ocean. They are interconnected through ocean currents, tides and an increasingly changing physical environment. This course uses a mixed platform of lectures, tutorials, computer labs and field-based exercises to explore and understand current issues and processes affecting marine ecosystems, using New Zealand and worldwide examples.A highlight of the course is a multi-day field course based at Living Springs on Banks Peninsula. Students are taught hands-on field sampling techniques for monitoring biodiversity in nearshore marine benthic communities, and give oral presentations and written reports that analyse problems, avenues to solutions and results of experimental testing. The course is intended for those wishing to pursue a deeper understanding of how marine ecosystems function, and the natural and human-induced changes affecting them. It is particularly useful for those who wish to have a good grounding for applied research and future employment, and who intend to pursue careers involving biodiversity, environmental monitoring, report-writing and oral presentations.Course aims‘Marine Ecosystems’ has two main aims: to provide students with up-to-date knowledge and understanding of key concepts, processes and factual information in marine ecology, and to enhance skills of students in the laboratory and field procedures used by marine ecologists. This includes sampling and experimental design, analyses, interpretation and communication of ecological data and results.These aims are achieved through lectures, laboratories, tutorials and a field trip. There is a variable course format discussing concepts, hypotheses and illustrative case histories of a wide range of marine ecosystems. Field-based exercises integrate concepts and techniques from lectures and laboratories, and apply them in a field setting. Skill development is in deeper knowledge, data acquisition, hypothesis testing, data analysis and presentation, and report writing.
By the end of the course, students should have achieved the following:1. Have a good working knowledge of key marine species and ecological drivers of species diversity and community processes within a range of marine ecosystems, including hard and soft shores, and the open ocean (assessment: field trip and final exam);2. Develop advanced knowledge of the physical and ecological processes affecting marine populations (assessment: lab/tutorial exercises);3. Understand the role of key marine species in food webs, primary production and other community processes (assessment: field trip, lab exercises and final exam);4. An ability to apply ecological theory to the management of current issues in marine ecosystems (assessment: internal discussion and final exam);5. Develop practical skills in experimental design, data analysis and scientific communication (assessment: field trip and estuary exercise).Transferable Skills RegisterStudents in this course will develop the following skills:1. Synthesising information from background lectures, tutorials and the primary literature. This skill underpins the advancement of science and the development of understanding. In lectures, lab- and field-based exercises, we will discuss research in a group environment to aid your ability to understand core issues across the marine domain and use as background for assessment tasks.2. Collecting field data. Important for research and in scientific organisations. This will be developed in the field and will provide hands-on and model-based contexts for data acquisition.3. Analysing data. Important for research, and in some non-scientific organisations. This skill will be developed as we help you work with data collected in the field and will involve modern analytical and graphical techniques for visualising, interpreting and presenting results.4. Writing a report on findings. Communication of science is fundamental to its use and advancement. We will have discussions to provide instruction on the elements of successful reports and help you identify these elements with clear marking rubrics.Students will develop the ability to:1. Understand ecological drivers creating and maintaining structure and diversity within a range of marine ecosystems, including hard and soft shores, and the open ocean (assessment task: final exam)2. Understand advanced theory and principles relating to marine ecosystems (assessment task: laboratory projects);3. Understand NZ marine ecosystems and how they compare to other areas of the world (assessment task: final exam);4. Apply ecological theory to the mitigation and management of current issues in marine ecosystems (assessment task: final exam);5. Develop practical skills in field sampling techniques (assessment task: research project and field trip exercises);6. Develop practical skills in analysing data and writing a scientific report (assessment tasks: laboratory and research project report).Course requirementsThis course has pre-requisites and suggested courses as background. It is assumed that all students in this course have a fundamental knowledge of marine biology on which we will build. Students are also expected to have taken a course in statistical analyses.
(1) BIOL209, (2) BIOL212, and (3) BIOL274
BIOL374
Students must attend one activity from each section.
David Schiel
Mads Thomsen and Spencer Virgin
Jan McKenzie
Learn Site Course Outline
Domestic fee $1,202.00
International fee $5,354.00
* All fees are inclusive of NZ GST or any equivalent overseas tax, and do not include any programme level discount or additional course-related expenses.
This course will not be offered if fewer than 10 people apply to enrol.
Maximum enrolment is 40
For further information see School of Biological Sciences .