Postgraduate Course: Ecosystems and Global Change (PGGE11247)
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 provides an introduction to the ecosystem ecology underlying these services, in particular looking at how ecosystems are structured and 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 Service Values 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 & ecosystem function
Week 7: Landscape ecology
Week 8: Student presentation 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 |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Course Delivery Information
|
| Academic year 2018/19, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
|
Quota: 35 |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 44,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
152 )
|
| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
40 %,
Coursework
60 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
|
| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Coursework: 60%, Exam: 40%
3 page policy brief on a key issue of ecosystem functioning: 30%
Ecosystem structure practical group presentation: 30%
Exam: 40% |
| Feedback |
Not entered |
| Exam Information |
| Exam Diet |
Paper Name |
Hours & Minutes |
|
| Main Exam Diet S1 (December) | | 2:00 | |
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
- Appreciate the diversity of ecosystem functions and expressions across different time, space and biome scales, and illustrate them through case studies.
- Appreciate how ecosystems respond to, and feedback on, global change drivers including climate change, land use change, and biodiversity loss.
|
Reading List
Reading lists will be provided for each week on Learn The following texts are used throughout the course:
1) Chapin, Matsoun and Vitousek (2011) Principles of terrestrial ecosystem ecology. 2nd edition. Springer.
2) Haefner, J (2005) Modeling Biological Systems: Principles and Applications. 2nd edition. Springer.
Other literature which gives you a flavour of the course content includes:
1) 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
2) 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.
3) Gruber N, Galloway JN (2008). An Earth-system perspective of the global nitrogen cycle. Nature 451: 293-296
4) 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
5) Post, ERO et al (1999). Ecosystem consequences of wolf behavioural response to climate. Nature 401 (6756): 905-907
6) 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 |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Data collection and management, data analysis using Excel, systems thinking and modelling. Summarising complex scientific issues for non-scientific audiences. Group work for presentations. |
| Keywords | Ecosystem functions,ecosystem dynamics,biogeochemical cycles,productivity,Climate change |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Casey Ryan
Tel: (0131 6)50 7722
Email: casey.ryan@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Ms Heather Dyson
Tel: (0131 6)51 7126
Email: H.Dyson@ed.ac.uk |
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