ZO5518: MARINE SPATIAL MANAGEMENT (2022-2023)

Course Aims:

This course aims to enable students to appreciate the level of understanding of the physical oceanography, trophic interactions, species survival and reproduction that are required to implement spatially explicit, sustainable ecosystem-base management and effective marine spatial planning. This course will explore the driving forces underlying changes in the abundance and distribution of highly mobile marine species and consider how anthrophonic changes (such as addition of MPAs, large scale renewable energy developments and climate change) may affect their spatial population densities. The course will provide background on new policy drivers (Marine Strategy Framework Directive, MSFD) and the policy instruments (Good Environmental Status, GES) and through the work on assessments, will provide students with the type of experience with marine data understanding and knowledge of management and research planning frameworks that many employers from researcher organizations through consultants and government establishments are looking for.

Key concepts covered:

• Marine Ecology: habitats, oceanographic processes, trophic interactions biodiversity spatial conservation options and climate variation
• Current Marine Spatial planning legislation and ecological design of marine protected areas (MPAs).
• Lectures will cover the theory and practice of assessing change in the size, status and distribution of important fish, seabird and marine mammal populations. Our focus will be on UK monitoring and research programmes, but we will draw comparison with similar initiatives in the EU and North America.
• Practical sessions/labs will include an introduction to the equipment, field and analytical techniques social skills used in the above range of concepts and aims to build on key skills (eg. GIS and R) developed earlier in the degree programme.

Main Learning Outcomes:

Knowledge: by the end of the course students should be able to

• Appreciate the range of diverse marine habitats (landscapes) within the oceans
• Understand the important linkages between habitat and ecological (trophic interactions) and physical forcing (i.e. tides and climate change)
• Be able to problem-solve in small groups, and integrate diverse data sources and modelling output to define the reasons for specific location and the design of marine protected areas and to determine what factors may drive changes in the abundance and distribution of mobile marine animals (fish, seabirds and mammals).
• Possess an understanding of the techniques available to monitor changes in the abundance, biodiversity and distribution of fish, marine mammals and seabirds.
• Understand the process by which the MSFD, GES and OSPAR policies will be taken up and what the current gaps are in the effectiveness of GES/OSPAR descriptors.
• Understand the range of impacts of marine offshore energy developments and how they can be assessed and mitigated.

 Practical and transferable skills leading to greater employability

• Understanding of 1-D biological-physical coupled model
• Understanding of spatially explicit population models
• Understanding of current and European and UK legislation of MSFD and GES and for the creation of MPAs and Marine Spatial Planning process.
• Be familiar with the key UK and International organisations responsible for monitoring and managing fish, marine mammal and seabird populations.
• To build on key skills (eg. GIS and R) offered in the degree programme
• Know where to access data from fisheries, marine mammal and seabird monitoring programmes in UK & European waters, and display the quantitative skills required to evaluate the status of populations and GES descriptors in different regions.

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

More Information about Week Numbers

There are no assessments for this course.