6 EC
Semester 1, period 2
5042BIGC6Y
Biodiversity forms the living fabric of the planet, underpinning the stability and productivity of ecosystems and maintaining functions such as nutrient cycling, energy flow, and climate regulation that sustain the balance of the Earth system and allow life to persist across environments. Yet, throughout the history of life on Earth, biodiversity has undergone profound changes, both through natural processes in the geological past and, more recently, through human activities. Understanding these changes requires examining mechanisms that operate across spatial and temporal scales. Species and ecosystems respond to environmental drivers such as climate, soils, and land use, forming dynamic networks of biotic and abiotic interactions that challenge prediction and management.
This course explores the patterns and processes that shape biological diversity at genetic, species, population, and ecosystem levels. It integrates biodiversity patterns from past and present, ecological and evolutionary theory, and predictive modelling to understand potential futures under global change. Key themes include biodiversity measurement and monitoring methods, species distributions and niches, data workflows and standards, biogeography, drivers of change, feedbacks and resilience, and conservation in the Anthropocene.
The course combines conceptual and analytical approaches within ecology, biogeography, and environmental change biology. Lectures and readings provide theoretical grounding, while practical sessions develop skills in managing, analysing, and visualising biodiversity data using Geographic Information Systems (GIS).
Overall, the course equips students with up-to-date knowledge and methodological tools for understanding and addressing biodiversity and global-change challenges in twenty-first-century environmental science.
No specific book is need. Reading material will be provided during the course.
Powerpoint presentations and other materials will be provided via Canvas.
| Lectures & werkcolleges | 40% |
| Practical | 25% |
| Self-study (incl. literature reading, exercises, presentation, and exam preparation) | 35% |
|
Activity |
Number of hours |
| Lectures |
24 |
|
Exams |
4,5 |
|
Practicals |
42 |
|
Question hours |
6 |
|
Self-study |
100 |
Additional requirements for this course:
The students need to pass each of the components independently: the class exams, each of the computer practicals and the project. Attendance in the practicals is compulsory.
| Item and weight | Details |
|
Final grade | |
|
1 (100%) Deeltoets 1 |
Assessment:
Exam 1 covers the lecture material, readings, and exercises from Week 1 (20%). Students may bring a simple calculator.
Exam 2 covers the lecture material, readings, and exercises from Week 2 (20%).
Exam 3 covers the lecture material, readings, and exercises from Weeks 3 and 4 (20%).
The computer practicum grade (40%) is based on work carried out during the practical sessions (including the end-of-day compulsory submissions in Weeks 1 and 2) and the submission and presentation of the final project in Week 3.
The final course grade is composed of both the practicum/project components and the three exams.
Attendance:
Attendance at the practical sessions is compulsory. To minimise disturbance, students must arrive on time; late arrivals will not be admitted to the session.
Exams:
Exams are closed material. Students may bring a simple, non-programmable calculator (without internet or communication functions) to Exam 1.
Students can inspect their assessed work via appointment
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 Blackboard (from Teaching and Examination Regulations).
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The computer practicum will be used to assess the application and comprehension level of students, especially in terms of handling and visualizing biodiversity data as well as presenting and summarizing the results of a project. Two assessments will be performed for the computer practicum, one based on daily exercises and the other one based on a poster submission and presentation at the end.
"}]
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
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General Information:
The course has a maximum capacity of 30 students.
All lectures, presentations, and written assignments are conducted in English, and the teaching language throughout the course is English.
Students are required to use their own laptop (as part of the university’s laptop college policy) equipped with a Windows operating system (!). The software ArcGIS must be installed using a free one-year student license, available via www.gis-studio.nl/index.php?page=software.
Students without an appropriate laptop and functioning ArcGIS installation will not be able to participate in the course activities or practical sessions.