Vår 2015

BIO-8515 Climate change, marine ecosystems and tipping points in the Arctic Ocean - 2 stp

The course is administrated by

Institutt for arktisk og marin biologi

Type of course

Theoretical

Course contents

The course will give an introduction to the background and definitions of tipping points, as well as quantitative methods to detect thresholds and tipping points in ecosystem components. Examples of changes in ecosystem processes in the marine Arctic due to climate change will be presented.

Objective of the course

After the course the student should be able to:

Sea ice.
Metabolic processes in plankton
The marine Arctic as a sink or source for atmospheric CO2
Distribution of Arctic species.
Explain the concept of tipping points.
Describe methods for detecting thresholds and tipping points in time-series.
Describe the basic prinsiples of the Metabolic Theory of Ecology (MTE).
Give examples of different Arctic marine ecosystem components? responses to temperature increase.
Discuss potential consequenses of increased temperature in the marine Arctic in relation to:

Understanding of the mechanisms for how the marine Arctic ecosystems may respond to extrinsic pressures (climate) in an abrupt and non-linear way

Language of instruction

English

Teaching methods

Lectures. Intensive course, 3 days

Assessment

Short student presentation (powerpoint). Students own work put into the context of the course. Graded with: Pass/Fail