BIO413 Coastal Benthic Ecology (Autumn 2020)

Knowledge

Upon completing the course, the students will:

Understand the ecological interactions characteristic of the benthic ecosystem along the eastern

Atlantic coastlines and be able to describe the dominant functional groups of this system. They will

know the characteristics of temperate coastal ecosystems and how these differ from ecosystems of

other biographical regions. They will be able to characterize the main marine benthic habitats, and to

discuss current human influence on coastal organisms.

Skills

Upon completing the course, the students will:

Be able to identify the dominant benthic flora and fauna along the Agder coastline. They will be able

to formulate hypotheses and design studies to investigate questions related to coastal ecology.

General competences

Upon completing the course, the students will:

Have acquired practical experience related to marine sampling and to relating field data to scientific

questions. They will gain experience in collaboration through group work, be able to synthesize and

visualize their results and to present these in a scientific format.

The course provides a thorough introduction to temperate coastal marine benthic ecosystems. The

course will give more specialized insights into organisms and ecological interactions of the coastal

eastern North Atlantic focusing on the Skagerrak/North Sea regions. Students will be introduced to

coastal and shelf environments and benthic habitats.

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.

The course assessment is based on a written, 3-hr exam (50%) and a report based on group work

(50%). For the group report, the group as a whole is graded. The course is graded by letters (A-F).