Marine and Freshwater Biology

Course manual 2021/2022

Course content

Planet earth is the blue planet with a large part of its surface (more than 70%) consisting of water, mainly in the form of seas and oceans. Marine and freshwater ecology is the branch of ecological science concerned with organisms that live in or near aquatic ecosystems, their behaviors, and their interactions with the environment. The course focusses on the physical, chemical and biological processes that are of key importance for the functioning of aquatic ecosystems. Furthermore, the effects of human impact on the functioning of marine and freshwater ecosystems will be addressed.

Topics of the lectures include:

• The water cycle;
• Physical and chemical properties of water;
• Small- and large-scale movement of water;
• Ocean acidification;
• Phytoplankton, nutrients and light;
• Benthic primary producers;
• Resource limitation and competition;
• Marine and freshwater invertebrates, taxonomy
• Ecology of marine and freshwater animals
• Aquatic food webs;
• Eutrophication

In addition to these regular lectures,  students are challenged to give a lecture about an aquatic ecosystem of their own choice

The one-day excursion planned to the Royal Netherlands Institute of Sea Research (NIOZ at Texel) cannot take place under the current Covid-related restrictions and will be replaced by a day of field sampling in different aquatic habitats.

Identification of marine and freshwater invertebrates will be practiced in a practical.

Study materials

Literature

• Oceanography and Marine Biology by David W. Townsend, ISBN 9780878936021

• Freshwater Ecology, 2nd Edition, W.K. Dodds & M.R. Whiles (2010), Academic Press. ISBN 9780123747242. This book is available for free via the UvA-domein:  http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/book/9780123747242

Objectives

• can describe the biological, physical, and chemical interactions in aquatic ecosystems, from the scale of a few micrometers (turbulence and growth of plankton) to thousands of kilometers (ocean currents and their role in the climate)
• is able to explain adaptations to life in water
• has an overview of major taxonomic groups of organisms living in freshwater and marine ecosystems and their ecological functions
• is able to acquire an overview of an topic within the field of marine and freshwater biology based on textbooks and scientific literature and present this
• is able to search, read and understand research described in recent primary literature and explain it to others

Teaching methods

• Lecture
• Fieldwork/excursion
• Presentation/symposium
• Self-study

Learning activities

Academic skills

Acquiring an overview of a topic in Marine and/or Freshwater Biology from literature, giving an introduction to the topic and synthesizing recent research highlights in this area in a lecture.

Attendance

Programme's requirements concerning attendance (OER-B):

• Participation in all practical (computer) sessions, field work and seminars in the curriculum is in principle obligatory. Any additional requirements are described per section in the course manual. Also the possible consequences of not fulfilling this obligation are described.
  

Additional requirements for this course:

The laboratory practical is mandatory and attendance of 4 out of 5 student lecture sessions is required.

Bovenstaande aanwezigheidsplicht geldt ook voor alle 'live' aangeboden online (computer)practica en werkcolleges.

Mocht je wegens persoonlijke omstandigheden (denk hierbij aan ziekte of bijzondere familieomstandigheden) niet kunnen deelnemen aan een verplichte onderwijsbijeenkomst, neem dan direct per e-mail contact op met de vakcoördinator. De vakcoördinator bespreekt dan met je of er mogelijkheden zijn om het onderwijs op een andere wijze te volgen, en zo ja welke.

Ben je langdurig niet in staat om onderwijs te volgen (langer dan 1 week), neem dan ook contact op met de studieadviseur.

NB Covid-19: Houd je te allen tijde aan de RIVM richtlijnen, ook als dit betekent dat je daardoor één of meerdere verplichte onderwijsbijeenkomsten moet missen. Ook hiervoor geldt, neem direct contact op met de vakcoördinator zodat er samen gekeken kan worden naar een oplossing.

Assessment

The assessment consists of the student lecture (30%) introducing a topic in marine or freshwater biology and recent research highlights in this area. The exam contributes 70% to the final grade. All lectures (including the general part of the student lectures) are part of the exam material. The lecture slides are supplemented by the relevant chapters in the two books listed above. Also the practical contributes to exam material. A minimum grade of 5.0 needs to be achieved for both parts.

Inspection of assessed work

Please contact the course coordinator to inspect your work.

Assignments

Student lectures are prepared in groups of three students and are graded. Feedback is given on the choice of literature used for the preparation.

Fraud and plagiarism

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

Course structure

Timetable

The schedule for this course is published on DataNose.

Processed course evaluations

Below you will find the adjustments in the course design in response to the course evaluations.

This course was given for the first time last year. Adjustments have been made to the assignments that consisted of both a lecture and a poster to be prepared last year, but based on the feedback has been reduced to only a lecture of slightly longer duration (also due to in person sessions being possible again).

Contact information

Coordinator

• dr. S. Wilken

Staff

• prof. dr. Jef Huisman
• dr. Fleur Visser
• dr. Arie Vonk
• Wessel de Wit