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ZO3306: MARINE ECOLOGY AND ECOSYSTEMS (2024-2025)

Last modified: 23 Jul 2024 11:09


Course Overview

  • This course explores how marine organisms interact with each other and their environment to form functioning ecosystems.
  • Consideration of biological production in the sea will show how marine ecosystems are fuelled.
  • The structure and function of marine food webs will be explored to give an appreciation of important differences from terrestrial food webs and how they respond to natural and anthropogenic influences.
  • Practical sessions will develop your skills in collecting, analysing and interpreting marine ecological data.
  • An introduction to the ‘ecosystem-based approach’ will show how understanding of marine ecosystem functioning can be applied to managing human activities in the sea.

Course Details

Study Type Undergraduate Level 3
Term First Term Credit Points 15 credits (7.5 ECTS credits)
Campus Aberdeen Sustained Study No
Co-ordinators
  • Dr Philip Smith

What courses & programmes must have been taken before this course?

What other courses must be taken with this course?

None.

What courses cannot be taken with this course?

None.

Are there a limited number of places available?

No

Course Description

Marine ecology deals with how organisms interact with the environment, and with their own and other species. Understanding these interactions is essential whether your interests in the marine environment are narrow (e.g. population dynamics of particular species) or broad (e.g. ecosystem functioning). At the ecosystem level, describing patterns over broad spatial or temporal scales is essential to interpreting how the marine environment behaves in response to large-scale processes; e.g., climate change, pollution, and fishing. Integrative thinking is also a hallmark of the Ecosystem Approach to various problems, which you will study in the course.

This course explores the ecology of marine organisms in different environments, and aims to explain current understanding of patterns and processes in a variety of marine ecosystems. The course builds on the knowledge developed in BI25Z5 Fundamentals in Marine Biology.

The course aims:

  • to deepen knowledge and understanding of physical and chemical aspects of marine environments
  • to develop knowledge about major types of marine habitats
  • to develop knowledge about key components of marine food webs
  • to explore the characteristics of specific marine ecosystems in detail, with an emphasis on trophic interactions
  • to understand basic principles of the Ecosystem Approach, and to identify the information required to implement the approach

Associated Costs

DescriptionValue
Students should possess a Howie laboratory coat and safety glasses. Further details of requirements can be found on the course's MyAberdeen page. The cost listed here is approximate.23.0000

Contact Teaching Time

Information on contact teaching time is available from the course guide.

Teaching Breakdown

More Information about Week Numbers


Details, including assessments, may be subject to change until 30 August 2024 for 1st term courses and 20 December 2024 for 2nd term courses.

Summative Assessments

Report and Online Test

Assessment Type Summative Weighting 60
Assessment Weeks Feedback Weeks

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Learning Outcomes
Knowledge LevelThinking SkillOutcome
Sorry, we don't have this information available just now. Please check the course guide on MyAberdeen or with the Course Coordinator

Online Test

Assessment Type Summative Weighting 15
Assessment Weeks Feedback Weeks

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Learning Outcomes
Knowledge LevelThinking SkillOutcome
Sorry, we don't have this information available just now. Please check the course guide on MyAberdeen or with the Course Coordinator

Oral Presentation: Group

Assessment Type Summative Weighting 25
Assessment Weeks Feedback Weeks

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Marine Ecosystem Review (group presentation with weighting from peer assessment)

Learning Outcomes
Knowledge LevelThinking SkillOutcome
Sorry, we don't have this information available just now. Please check the course guide on MyAberdeen or with the Course Coordinator

Formative Assessment

There are no assessments for this course.

Resit Assessments

Re-submission of failed elements

Assessment Type Summative Weighting
Assessment Weeks Feedback Weeks

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Students will repeat whichever elements of the assessment were failed or not completed at first sitting; the marks for elements already passed will be carried forwards.

Learning Outcomes
Knowledge LevelThinking SkillOutcome
Sorry, we don't have this information available just now. Please check the course guide on MyAberdeen or with the Course Coordinator

Course Learning Outcomes

Knowledge LevelThinking SkillOutcome
FactualRememberILO’s for this course are available in the course guide.

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