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Høst 2023

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 ects

Course contents

Boreal forest and Arctic tundra are two northern, cold-adapted biomes that cover about 20% of the globe’s land areas. These biomes harbor ecosystems with unique biodiversity and important ecological functions that currently are threatened by climate warming. In Bio-8106 we demonstrate how studying food webs is a powerful approach to understand the diversity and dynamics of northern ecosystems, and how climate change and other human-induced stressors impact them. Northern food web ecology provides therefore a scientific basis for answering questions like: Can emergent insect outbreaks stop the expansion of tall shrubs and trees into arctic tundra in warming climate? Can management of Arctic herbivores like geese and reindeer cause tundra vegetation state shifts? Will population cycles of lemmings disappear in a warmer Arctic and does it matter? What are the consequences of the reintroduction of wolves to boreal national parks? Is the population decline of ptarmigan in Norway related to increased resources for nest predators such as foxes and corvids?

Food web studies build on theories and methods that aims to uncover how the interactions between plants, herbivores and carnivores (including humans) influence the diversity and dynamics of ecosystems. Bio-3013 gives the students a state-of-the-art view on these theories and methods, and especially how they apply to of boreal and Arctic ecosystems. Hence, the course aims to give the student a solid scientific competence that make them well equipped to embark on ecosystem-based research, monitoring and management of the ecosystems we live in here in the North.


Admission requirements

Who can apply as a singular course student:


Objective of the course

Knowledge:

Skills:

General competence:


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.