Høst 2021

BIO-8016 Northern food web ecology - 10 stp

The course is administrated by

Institutt for arktisk og marin biologi

Type of course

Theoretical. The course can be taken as a singular course.

Course overlap

BIO-3013 Northern food web ecology 10 stp

Course contents

Ecosystems in northern terrestrial biomes - arctic tundra and boreal forest - are increasingly studied using the framework of food web to understand ecosystem structure and functioning. The food web framework builds on well-established ecological theory on trophic interactions (producer-consumer relations) between plants, herbivores and carnivores. Recent methodological developments have provided means to study such trophic interactions more comprehensively within entire ecological communities. The food web approach appears to be especially amenable in case of the relatively simple communities in northern terrestrial ecosystem that often are ruled by a few key interactions. Food webs have also recently shown to be a very fruitful way to study the role of human intervention in ecosystems (harvesting and provision of anthropogenic subsidies) and especially the impact of climate change in arctic ecosystems.

Application deadline

PhD students at UiT apply for a seat by registering for classes in StudentWeb before 1. September. The registration starts 15. May.

Other applicants apply for admission through SøknadsWeb before 1. June. Application code 9301. For applicants who are granted a seat, a study right will be created, and these applicants apply for a seat by registering for classes in StudentWeb before 1 September.

The study right gives the applicant admission to register to other open PhD courses or apply for a seat to PhD courses where entry is limited.

Admission requirements

Who can apply as a singular course student:

PhD student enrolled at another institution than UiT. PhD students must upload a document from their university stating that there are registered PhD students. This group of applicants does not have to prove English proficiency and are exempt from semester fee.
Holders of a master´s degree of five years or 3+2 years (or equivalent) may be admitted. These applicants must upload a Master´s Diploma with Diploma Supplement / English translation of the diploma. Applicants from listed countries must document proficiency in English. To find out if this applies to you, see the following list: Proficiency in English must be documented - list of countries. For more information on accepted English proficiency tests and scores, as well as exemptions from the English proficiency tests, please see the following document: Proficiency in english - PhD level studies

Objective of the course

To demonstrate how a food web perspective is useful for describing and analyzing ecological dynamics emerging from the trophic interaction in ecosystems.
To give the students a basic understanding of how basic mechanism in populations and communities leads to ecological dynamics through training in the use of simple models to understand such dynamics.
To provide an overview of the structural characteristics of terrestrial food webs and how these vary in time and space in boreal and arctic biomes.
To give an introduction to some modern empirical methods of studying trophic interactions.
To learn what are the key processes and functions in northern terrestrial food webs by means of illustrious case studies.
To train students in reading, presenting and discussing scientific research papers efficiently and critically: student seminars.

Language of instruction

The language of instruction is English and all of the syllabus material is in English. Examination questions will be given in English, but may be answered either in English or a Scandinavian language.

Teaching methods

Lectures, seminars, modelling laboratory and a project assignment. The course starts with a 2-day workshop.

Assessment

Oral exam. A graded scale of five marks from A to E for pass and F for fail.

Coursework requirements: There is a compulsory project work connected to the model laboratory part of the course that needs to be completed before the exam, the PhD students will have a more advanced compulsory project work. Each student is also required to lead a seminar during the seminar parts of the courses. The project work needs to be approved in order to do the exam.

Re-sit exam: There will be a re-sit examination for students that did not pass the previous ordinary examination.