Polar Ecosystems

Uitgebreide vaknaam	Polar Ecosystems
Leerdoelen	At the end of the course, the student is able to: 1. Acquired a good basic knowledge on the driving forces for polar productivity, diversity and ecosystem functioning and how this is affected by climate change and other human impacts and can reproduce this. 2. Give a presentation on the reading material, in which she/he can review, summarize, interpret and discuss scientific papers with fellow students and lecturers. 3. To apply the acquired knowledge to a high level of integration. For example, the student must be able to argue how climate change might impact marine benthic communities in subregions of the high Arctic, by combining knowledge across disciplines (climatology, sea ice dynamics, associated organisms and productivity).
Omschrijving	The course is based on a series of lectures (22) and a reading assignment. Lectures will be given by internal (ESRIG, Arctic Centre) as well as external polar experts. Topics covered are polar climatology, marine and terrestrial polar habitats, key species, effects of climate change from species to ecosystem level, and other human impacts. The second part of the course consists of a reading assignment, followed by presentations. A set of key scientific papers will be handed out to small groups of students (max 3 per group), covering as much scientific disciplines as possible. The students will need to understand, reproduce, summarize, evaluate and discuss the result and implications of the papers during a symposium, where the reading assignments will be presented. The course will be evaluated by a written examination, passing this exam is mandatory. Examination material includes material from the lectures as well as a selection of key scientific papers.
Uren per week
Onderwijsvorm	Bijeenkomst (S), Hoorcollege (LC), Opdracht (ASM)
Toetsvorm	Presentatie (P), Schriftelijk tentamen (WE) (Final mark is based on both Examination and Presentation of reading assignment weighted according to: 70% mark examination; 30% mark presentation). The examination mark is based on the average of the scores of all questions (equal weight).)
Vaksoort	master
Coördinator	dr. W.H. van de Poll
Docent(en)	prof. dr. R. Bintanja , Gastdocent(en) ,dr. M.J.J.E. Loonen ,Prof. Dr. P.J. Palsboll ,dr. W.H. van de Poll
Verplichte literatuur	Titel Auteur ISBN Prijs Individual research papers, handouts of lecturers.
Entreevoorwaarden	The course unit assumes prior knowledge acquired from major Ecology and Evolution, major Biology. The course unit is an elective in the Ecology and Evolution, Marine Biology or Biology Masters Tracks at RUG. Also external students (UU, VU for example) are admitted provided that students have a similar background to RUG students. Max. 20 students
Opmerkingen	Guest lecturer: R. Middag (NIOZ)
Opgenomen in	Opleiding Jaar Periode Type MSc Biology: Research  (Compulsory master courses) - semester II a keuze MSc Biology: Science, Business and Policy  (Compulsory master courses) - semester II a keuze MSc Courses for Exchange Students: Biology - semester II a MSc Ecology and Evolution: Ecology and Conservation  (Electives/optional modules) - semester II a keuze MSc Ecology and Evolution: Evolutionary Biology  (Electives/optional modules) - semester II a keuze MSc Energy and Environmental Sciences  (Electives) 1 semester II a keuze MSc Marine Biology: Research  (Compulsory master courses) - semester II a keuze