Biological Oceanography

Course manual 2017/2018

Course content

Biological Oceanography: a systems approach

Oceans cover 70% of the surface of the Earth and their vast total volume makes it the largest continuous habitat. Half of the oxygen production on Earth occurs in the oceans. The oceans have a critical function for the supply of food and raw materials, and marine ecosystems are crucial in the regulation of Earth’s climate and biogeochemical cycles. Our understanding of the ocean and the life it supports is, however, far from complete. Biological oceanography improves our understanding of the principles underlying marine ecosystem organization, and the processes that govern spatial and temporal distribution, dynamics, biodiversity and evolution of auto-, hetero- and mixo-trophic organisms as well as trophic interactions. Only an interdisciplinary and (eco)system-wide approach will enable us to unravel the mysteries and the unknowns of the ocean. Physical, chemical and geological processes in the oceans are fundamental to biological oceanography and vice versa, therefore a few of the initial lectures in this course will be dedicated to the different disciplines. This course will give an in-depth insight in the current knowledge of life in the ocean from viruses to metazoans and from production to burial. The knowledge will be largely framed within the complex suite of processes that are involved in the transformation and transfer of fixed organic carbon (particulate and dissolved) from the surface to the deep ocean (collectively referred to as the ‘biological pump’). The factors involved in the functioning of the biological pump are linked and diverse for different systems but influence virtually the entire ocean ecosystem.

Study materials

Literature

• Lecture notes (e.g. powerpoint slides)

• (not obligatory) the book: Oceanography and Marine Biology. An Introduction to Marine Science. (D.W. Townsend. Sinauer Associates, ISBN 9780878936021) may serve as introduction to the course.

• Selection of scientific papers (will be provided during the course)

Practical training material

• Handouts will be provided during practicals

Objectives

At the end of the course, the students are able to:

1. Identify main biological oceanographic processes (4) and describe their interdependence
2. specify and differentiate between biological processes involved in the biological pump
3. survey relevant literature about a given research topic within biological oceanography and summarize in an abstract
4. develop and formulate a follow-up research question / objective on a given topic within biological oceanography and describe how the research should be conducted
5. present a lecture aimed at explaining a research topic to a scientific audience and proposing a continuation research project
6. explain the importance of the biology of the ocean for global change developments
7. critically discuss, oppose and defend scientific issues within the field of biological oceanography

Teaching methods

• Lecture
• Seminar
• Computer lab session/practical training
• Presentation/symposium
• Self-study
• Supervision/feedback meeting
• Fieldwork/excursion
• Working independently on e.g. a project or thesis

The course consists of lectures, discussion forums (flipped classrooms), (computer) practicals, a one-day excursion, and a symposium. For the latter, students can choose a topic from a list provided (including papers as a starting point) which they will investigate and summarize (extended abstract) including a follow-up research objective for a new research project within the field. Students will be coached by teachers in this course to come up with new research ideas and communicate these effectively. Students are expected to actively participate in discussions and provide constructive comments.    

Learning activities

Attendance

The programme does not have requirements concerning attendance (OER-B).

Additional requirements for this course:

Assessment

Inspection of assessed work

Contact your supervisor to make an appointment for inspection.

Assignments

Extended abstract and formulation of research objective

• Students will work in pairs, read and discuss literature about a topic in Biological Oceanography, but will hand in the written assignment individually. Students will get feedback during at least one coaching session. Assignment is graded (20% of final mark).

Presentation

• Students will give an oral presentation in pairs; this presentation will provide background information about a research topic in oceanography (10 min) and present a new research proposal (10 min) followed by discussion with peers. Assignment is graded (20% of final mark).

Onderstaande opdrachten komen aan bod in deze cursus:

•    Naam opdracht 1 : beschrijving 2
•    Naam opdracht 2 : beschrijving 1
•    ....

Fraud and plagiarism

Dit vak hanteert de algemene ‘Fraude- en plagiaatregeling’ van de UvA. Onder plagiaat of fraude wordt verstaan het overschrijven van het werk van een medestudent dan wel het kopiëren van wetenschappelijke bronnen (uit bijvoorbeeld boeken en tijdschriften en van het Internet) zonder daarbij de bron te vermelden. Uiteraard is plagiaat verboden. Hier wordt nauwkeurig op gecontroleerd en streng tegen opgetreden. Bij verdenking van plagiaat wordt de examencommissie van de opleiding ingeschakeld. Wanneer de examencommissie overtuigd is dat er plagiaat gepleegd is dan kan dit maximaal leiden tot een uitsluiting van al het onderwijs van de opleiding voor een heel kalenderjaar. Zie voor meer informatie over het fraude- en plagiaatreglement van de Universiteit van Amsterdam.www.uva.nl/plagiaat

Course structure

Timetable

The schedule for this course is published on DataNose.

Contact information

Coordinator

• dr. K.T.C.A. Peijnenburg

Prof. Dr. Jef Huisman, Prof. Dr. Corina Brussaard, Prof. Dr. Geert-Jan Brummer, Prof. Dr. Gerald Ganssen, Dr. Susanne Wilken, Dr. Deborah Wall-Palmer