Postgraduate Course: The Ecology of Ecosystem Services (PGGE11229)
Course Outline
| School | School of Geosciences |
College | College of Science and Engineering |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | We all depend on a vast range of services provided by ecosystems, from food and medicines to a stable climate, clean water and storm protection. This course introduces the ecosystem ecology underlying these services, in particular looking at how ecosystems are structured and how they function. The course has a practical ethos and involves fieldwork and analysis of real data from around the globe. It is suitable for students with a wide range of backgrounds, but you will need to quickly develop competence in managing data with Excel. The course looks at the dynamic nature of ecosystems, which often behave as complex systems. Different ways of representing and modelling such systems are explored through practical exercises and case studies. The course provides students with the core ecosystem science needed for Ecosystem Valuation and Management in semester 2. |
| Course description |
Week 1: Overview of Ecosystem Concepts and Global Change
Week 2: Ecosystems and the global carbon cycle
Week 3: Fieldwork practical: the structure of forests
Week 4: Nutrient cycles
Week 5: Biodiversity: what is it and how do we measure it?
Week 6: Biodiversity and ecosystem function
Week 7: Novel ecosystems and conservation
Week 8: Student presentations on ecosystem structure
Week 9: Ecosystems as dynamic systems
Week 10: Modelling global (eco)systems: an example of the global carbon cycle
Week 11: Overview, feedback and exam preparation
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Understand the fundamental principles of ecosystem ecology, including how ecosystem structure relates to function, and what drives the dynamics of ecosystems
- Measure and model ecosystem structure and function, manage data, and analyse large ecological data sets
- Understand what biodiversity is, and how it is related to ecosystem functioning, and illustrate this relationship through case studies.
- Appreciate how ecosystems respond to, and feedback on, global change drivers including climate change, land use change, and biodiversity loss.
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Reading List
Reading lists will be provided for each week on Learn.
The following texts are used throughout the course:
1. Chapin, Matson and Vitousek (2011) Principles of terrestrial ecosystem ecology. 2nd edition. Springer. This is available as an e-book from the library catalogue. There are also hard copies in the library.
2. Haefner, J. (2005). Modeling Biological Systems: Principles and Applications. 2nd edition. Springer. This is available as an e-book from the library catalogue. There are also hard copies in the library.
The best prep you can do for this course is to read and work on the review questions in chapters 1, 2, 3, 14 and 15 of Chapin et al and chapters 1-3 of Haefner.
You should also make sure you are comfortable plotting graphs in Excel, organizing data sets and writing equations. This includes filtering lists and using pivot tables. The University provides training and online support for Excel at:
http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/information-services/help-consultancy/is-skills/learning-resources/spreadsheets-data
Also see: http://www.docs.is.ed.ac.uk/skills/documents/3606/3606.pdf
If you are already comfortable with Excel, then I suggest that you learn how to use the free, open source data analysis and statistics package called 'R'. The best way to do this is to get hold of:
Gardener, M (2012). Statistics for Ecologists Using R and Excel. Pelagic Publishing Ltd. [e-book in library]
Other literature which gives a flavour of the course content includes:
3. Steffen, W., J. Grinevald, P. Crutzen and J. McNeill (2011). "The Anthropocene: conceptual and historical perspectives." Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A. 369(1938): 842-867.
4. Curtis, A (2011). The Use and Abuse of Vegetational Concepts. Part 2 in the BBC TV documentary series All Watched Over By Machines Of Loving Grace. Available online.
5. Gruber N, Galloway JN (2008) An Earth-system perspective of the global nitrogen cycle. Nature 451: 293-296
6. Hooper, D.U. et. al. (2005) Effect of Biodiversity on Ecosystem Functioning: A Consensus of Current Knowledge. Ecological Monographs, 75 (1), 2005, pp 3 - 35.
7. Post, ERO et al (1999). Ecosystem consequences of wolf behavioural response to climate. Nature 401(6756): 905-907.
8. Biggs, R., Carpenter, S.R., Brock, W.A. (2009) Turning back from the brink: Detecting an impending regime shift in time to avert it. PNAS vol 106, no.3, 826-831.
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Ecological field work, data collection and management, data analysis using Excel, systems thinking and modelling. Summarising complex scientific issues for non-scientific audiences. Group work and presentations. |
| Additional Class Delivery Information |
Fieldwork
For week 3 we will be outside whatever the weather. You will need to bring good shoes or walking boots, very warm clothes and a waterproof coat and trousers. If you don't have waterproof gloves, bring a spare pair of normal gloves (or buy some washing up gloves). Every year a few people don't bring enough clothes and get cold. The average weather for this time of year is between 2 and 10 degrees with a 30% chance of rain. You will also need to bring writing materials. Note that pencil is preferable, as it does not run in the rain. Full details of the fieldwork will be given in the week before.
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| Keywords | Ecosystem functions,ecosystem dynamics,biogeochemical cycles,productivity,biodiversity,climate |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Caroline Lehmann
Tel: (0131 6)50 6125
Email: Caroline.Lehmann@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Susie Crocker
Tel: (0131 6)51 7126
Email: Susie.Crocker@ed.ac.uk |
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