BIO-3516 Food-webs and fisheries - 10 stp

Master course for biology students and master students in fishery science.

The course is available as a singular course

The course deals with how food-web models can be used to analyse topics of interest for fishery and ecosystem management. Lessons will give an overview of approaches and models used in fisheries and ecosystem management with emphasis on multispecies models. Local, regional and global perspectives on model strategies will be presented. We will describe principles regarding ecosystem services, harvesting strategies and resilience of ecosystems. In the course, we will use a food-web model system, Ecopath with Ecosim and Ecospace (EwE) and present the model principles. The students will learn guidance principles on how to incorporate information on input data and parameters to EwE, as well as principles for parameterising dynamic models and how to analyse and report uncertainty.

In data lab exercises, we will apply hands-on training and construct food-web models. Annual average "Snap-shot" Ecopath models will be converted to dynamic models and forced by biological and physical variables (e.g., primary production, temperature and fishing mortality). Exercises also include using a spatial module, Ecospace, targeting analysis of spatial effects of management actions such as marine protected areas.

In a supervised term paper project, a quantitative objective including fisheries and management aspects will be analysed using a model ending with a written report and an oral discussion.

Local admission, application code 9371 - Master's level singular course.

Admission requires a Bachelor`s degree (180 ECTS) or equivalent qualification, with a major in biology of minimum 80 ECTS.

Knowledge:

• Fisheries management principles, ecosystem-based management and ecosystem services
• Approaches and models used in fisheries assessment and ecosystem management
• Harvesting strategies and their potential effects on ecosystems
• Food-web model principles
• How to read, discuss and present scientific data and models
• Ecosystem resilience and resistance
• How climate change and invasive species interact with fisheries 

Skills:

• Incorporate information on food-consumption, growth and predation in a mass-balance model
• Build a mass-balance food-web model
• Convert a snap-shot mass-balance model to a dynamic Ecosystem model
• Use historical data and fitted food-web models to observed time-series
• Use biological and physical drivers to force a dynamic food-web model
• Test effects of various harvesting strategies in a dynamic food-web model
• Use a spatial ecosystem model and test effects of spatial management actions (e.g marine protected areas)
• Be able to give advice about how effects of food-web interactions should be taken in consideration in ecosystem management
• Analyse uncertainty by Monte Carlo simulations and report results from model output including measures of uncertainty
• Orally describe and discuss the topics above
• Explain and discuss themes related to food-web models and fisheries
• Write a term paper describing the use of a quantitative model to analyse an objective
• Give an oral presentation discussing the progress of a term paper

General competence:

• Can demonstrate a broad insight in scientific basis for ecosystem management
• Can communicate academic issues and analyses regarding ecosystem management and fisheries
• Demonstrate knowledge of the IMRAD system for scientific reporting