Vår 2024

BIO-8012 Fish-migrations; science, management and politics - 10 stp

The course is administrated by

Institutt for arktisk og marin biologi

Type of course

PhD course for biology students.

Course contents

Fishes migrate on different spatial and temporal scales, utilising the best suited habitat during different life stages to increase individual fitness. The diadromous migrations of salmonids and eels between spawning and feeding habitats are well known examples. Humans have exploited fishes during their migrations for several thousand years, and many migrating species have a high economic value. During this course, insights will be given in ecological causes and evolutionary consequences of fish migrations, migration patterns, and orientation, with examples from fish species in northern marine and freshwater systems. The course will introduce the students to biotelemetry and other tag and tracking methods, with emphasis on use of radio and acoustic transmitters, data storage tags, and satellite pop-up archival tags. The course will also focus on the anthropogenic impacts on selected species, their challenges and threats, how they are managed and the use of science to develop management strategies, including discussions on the use of science in politics, use and abuse of scientific results, science communication and the roles of scientists within applied science.

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

The course will be arranged with a minimum number of 7 students (combined on this course and BIO-3003). Maximum participants: 10.

Objective of the course

The objective of the course is for the students to obtain the following knowledge, skills and general competence:

Knowledge

Advanced theoretical knowledge in ecological causes and evolutionary consequences of fish migrations.
Can evaluate the application of different tagging technologies used to study fish migrations.
Be able to contribute to the development of understanding how human impacts may influence fish migrations and how science is used to develop management strategies.

Skills

Able to formulate problems, to develop study design, and critically evaluate the results and conclusions from a telemetry study of a high international standard.
Able to choose and critically evaluate the suitable telemetry methods that will meet the aim of the study, be able to choose and the right handling and tagging method for the fish, and be able to critically evaluate effects of tagging on the fish.

General competence

Able to reflect on and discuss in an international group ethical and animal welfare issues related to telemetry studies
Able to reflect on the role of science and the scientist in management and politics - and lead discussions on these matters.
Able to reflect and lead discussions on how to communicate applied science to a broad public

Language of instruction

English

Teaching methods

Lectures, seminars and practical exercises. Ten days intensive course in February, and online seminars and lectures in March, a total of about 20 hours lectures, 18 hours seminars and 4 days á 4 hours practical exercises. The course is taught in the spring semester every second year. It is only possible to take the exam in the semester when the course is taught.