6 EC
Semester 1, period 2
5224BEEC6Y
Below each body of water—from deep oceans to mountain lakes—there are ecosystems consisting of benthic (bottom-dwelling) organisms that form complex food-web structures depending on their environment. Factors such as light, temperature, salinity, substrate-type and water-flow are important drivers for the structure of each of these dynamic systems. Interactions between organisms at different trophic levels are unraveled by an interdisciplinary approach of biology, geology and chemistry, biogeochemistry in short. Ultimately, the discipline “Benthic Ecology” aims to understand how these ecosystems function, impact their environment and even predict their dynamics in a changing world.
The course is organized in lectures, excursions and the writing of a research proposal. The lectures are divided into two parts:
Part I (60%): Benthic Ecosystems biogeochemical environment and functioning
Which geological, biological and chemical factors control the structure and shape of benthic ecosystems? We will discuss a wide variety of benthic ecosystems from 12 km below sea-level (mid-ocean ridges and deep-sea coral reefs) to 6 km above sea-level (mountain lakes); from temperate (Wadden Sea and Oosterschelde intertidal flats) to tropical (coral reefs, including mangrove and seagrass ecosystems) and from fast flowing (rivers) to stagnant (lakes and ditches).
The main processes and material fluxes in sediments and water column will be described:
Understanding how ecosystems function, enables you to assess how these ecosystems change by human impact, such as overfishing, mega-trawling, ocean acidification and eutrophication. We will analyze whether we can predict shifts in ecosystem structure and functioning as a consequence of these impacts. We will also discuss the application of ecosystem knowledge to construct artificial ecosystems. For example, to develop sustainable forms of multi-trophic aquaculture for food, energy and medicine production. Students will be actively involved in the discussion through interactive lectures and excursions.
Excursions:
During this course students will:
Part II (40%): Writing a research proposal to obtain funding:
Applying for funding is a crucial part of a future career in science. Based on an actual funding application format (the KNAW Fund for Ecology), each student will write a proposal using an ecosystem approach, and therefore will apply knowledge derived from the course lectures and excursions. Students (supervised by 1 lecturer per 5 students) will choose a main topic (for example: tropical coral reef; cyanobacteria; mid-ocean ridges/hydrothermal vents; bioremediation; seagrass and mangroves). Each student then collects, reads literature specific for their own topic within the ecosystem and presents (5 min colloquium) the topic in his/her work-group. A research question and a subsequent experimental approach will be formulated as an individual assignment. The end result will be a proposal of maximum 3 pages, which serves to apply for funding for your own specific project.
All study materials will be placed on the Canvas site
This course (6EC, 168 h) is based on:
|
Activity |
Number of hours |
|
Lectures |
34 |
|
Colloquium |
10 |
|
Research Proposal |
57 |
|
Excursion |
16 |
|
Question hour |
2 |
|
Written exam |
3 |
|
Self study |
46 |
Additional requirements for this course:
Attendance at lectures is not mandatory, but highly recommended (there is no Syllabus or book, students need to understand the ppt presentations of the lecturers). Attendance during excursions (Burgers' Zoo and AcroporaNet Symposium) is mandatory (from Teaching and Examination Regulations).
| Item and weight | Details |
|
Final grade | |
|
0.6 (60%) Tentamen digitaal | |
|
0.4 (40%) Research Proposal |
The final grade of this course will be based on the digital exam (60%) and the research proposal assignment (40%).
A student has passed the course when each partial examination (research proposal and digital exam) with a grade greater than 5 (so 5.1 or more) and when the weighted final grade is 5.5 or higher.
The students will receive a mark for their research proposals, which will be assessed on colloquium (10%), content and focus (45%), writing style (35%) and proposal format (10%). The assessment rubric will be provided through Canvas. If requirements for research proposal are not met, student is obliged to improve his/her work until cut-off (minimal 5.1 and overall grade for course >= 5.5) is reached in consult with supervisor, with a maximum of 6.0 as final grade for the research proposal.
The written exam consists of 10 questions of which 50% of the grade will be based on knowledge assessment of ILO’s 1 and 2 (knowledge description) and 50% of the grade will be based on knowledge assessment of ILO 3 (knowledge analysis).
Resit is possible for digital exam and will be planned by the course coordinator in 2026. For at least twenty working days after the announcement of the results of a written examination, the student can, on request, inspect his/her assessed work, the questions and assignments set, as well as the standards applied for marking. The place and time will be announced via Canvas (from Teaching and Examination Regulations).
The manner of inspection will be communicated via the digitial learning environment.
Each student writes his/her own research proposal, which includes presenting research question and approach in colloquium. Feedback on colloquium is given in small workgroups and by supervisor. Feedback on written proposal is given by supervisor (2 times 30 min time slots per student) and peers (peer review)
Written exams are assessed individually. In week 4, 2 hours of questions on upcoming digital exam are scheduled.
The 'Regulations governing fraud and plagiarism for UvA students' applies to this course. This will be monitored carefully. Upon suspicion of fraud or plagiarism the Examinations Board of the programme will be informed. For the 'Regulations governing fraud and plagiarism for UvA students' see: www.student.uva.nl
| Weeknummer | Onderwerpen | Studiestof |
| 1 complete course schedule is provided through Canvas | ||
| 2 | ||
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This course is obligatory for students that participate in the fieldwork course Coral Reef Ecology within the Master track Freshwater and Marine Biology.
Registration for this course via https://www.sis.uva.nl in October of the first semester . There is a maximum amount of students allowed of 35. Order of acceptance: