Vår 2024

BIO-3003 Fish-migrations; science, management and politics - 10 stp

The course is administrated by

Institutt for arktisk og marin biologi

Type of course

Master course for biology students. The course is available as a singular course.

Course overlap

BIO-8012 Fish migration: Theory and technology 5 ects

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

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.

The course will be arranged with a minimum number of 7 students. Maximum participants: 15 (combined on this course and BIO-8012).

Objective of the course

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

Knowledge

Theoretical knowledge in ecological causes and evolutionary consequences of fish migrations, as well as in tagging technologies used to study fish migrations.
Understanding how human impacts may influence fish migrations and how science is used to develop management strategies.

Skills

Able to design a telemetry study
Able to choose the suitable telemetry methods that will meet the aim of the study and be able to choose the right handling and tagging method for the fish

General competence

Able to reflect on ethical and animal welfare issues related to telemetry studies
Able to reflect on the role of science and the scientist in management and politics.
Able to reflect on how to communicate applied science to a broad public

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 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.