Upon completing the course, the students will
• Understand the ecological interactions characteristic of the pelagic realm of the North Atlantic
and be able to describe the dominant organisms of this system
• be able to discuss how physical and chemical drivers affect the ecosystem over time and space
• be able to compare pelagic ecosystems of different biogeographic regions
• have acquired knowledge of the diversity of fish life forms, and how these relate to the spatial
and temporal dynamics of fish populations
• use reasoning to address ecological aspects of fish population dynamics, particularly during early
life history stages
• be able to identify dominant pelagic organisms along the Agder coastline
• be able to formulate hypotheses and design studies to investigate questions related to pelagic
ecology
• be able to write pertinent research proposals addressing ecological aspects plankton and fish
population dynamics in relation to environmental variability
• have gained essential knowledge to design and perform marine sample surveys on pelagic marine
communities to address scientific questions of pelagic ecology
• have acquired practical skills to collect, store and process marine organisms for downstream
analyses
The course provides a thorough introduction to temperate coastal marine pelagic ecosystems. The
course will give more specialized insights into organisms and ecological interactions of the pelagic
realm of the North Atlantic focusing on the Skagerrak/North Sea regions. Mechanisms affecting
abundance, seasonality and distribution of plankton and nekton in relation to the variability of
oceanographic parameters will be discussed. Factors affecting survival, dispersal and distribution of
fish during early life history stages will be detailed in relation to environmental variation and human
activities.
The course will use a combination of lectures, seminars, field work, laboratory work and group
project work. The course will start with lectures and seminars/discussions to introduce students to
relevant topics including the field project. 3-5 days will be spent in the field to sample material and
data for student projects.
Estimated workload for the average student is 270 hours.
1 semester
10
Spring
Kristiansand
Faculty of Engineering and Science