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Valid for year : 2007
 
NBIC29 Ecology , second course, 15 ECTS credits.
/Ekologi fortsättning/

For:   Bio   BKM  

 

Prel. scheduled hours: 120
Rec. self-study hours: 280

  Area of Education: Science

Subject area: Biology
  Advancement level (G1, G2, A): G2

Aim:
The students should achieve a deeper theoretical and empirical knowledge of common ecosystems in Sweden. Focus is on inland waters and forest ecosystems. The students should learn about structures, processes, and mechanisms in ecosystems studied. Having successfully passed the course, the students should:
  • Know about the most important factors that structure inland waters in Sweden and important interactions in and between populations in waters. The ecological processes that regulate species composition and influence nutrient dynamics in lakes and wetlands. Understand the principal couplings between terrestrial (drainage area) and aquatic ecosystems.
  • Understand which physical, chemical, and biological parameters that characterize different types of inland waters.
  • Have the basic ecological knowledge in order to prepare plans according to water direktivet.
  • Understand ecological theories, principles, and processes that are important in forests, e g population dynamics, plant-herbivore interactions, biogeochemistry, processes in the soil and vegetation
  • How soil processes, climate and biological interactions, for instance between plants and herbivores, influence biodiversity and species structure of organism communities in forests and grasslands#.
  • Have a good knowledge in order to plan for sustainable hunting and forestry.


Prerequisites: (valid for students admitted to programmes within which the course is offered)
Basic level in Biology. Courses in Ecology and Faunistics and Floristics should be passed.

Note: Admission requirements for non-programme students usually also include admission requirements for the programme and threshhold requirements for progression within the programme, or corresponding.
Organisation:
Compulsory seminars, laboratory work, and field practice. Lectures. The students make group works (field/lab work, data analyzing, writing a report) during the course.
Course contents:
Physical and chemical environment in inland waters (standing and running) and how they interact with each other and with plants and animals. Interactions between organisms. Different lake types including those processes that lead to characteristic plants and animals for the waters. The development/succession of streams and lakes. The influence of catchment area to lakes and rivers. Ecology and organisms of the soil, as well as vegetation and plant societies. The ecology of terrestrial organisms and ecological processes in forests are exemplified in the field and in the laboratory.

Course literature:
Kalff Jacob 2002: Limnology. Inland water ecosystems. - Prentice Hall. Bardgett Richard 2005: The Biology of Soil. - Oxford University Press. Rydin, Snoeijs & Diekmann 1999: Swedish plant geography. - Acta phytogeographica Suecica 84. Uppsala. Compendium/articles.

Examination:
Written exam
Oral and written presentation of project work
Participating actvily in seminars, field and laboratory work
 4 p
4 p
2 p
/
/
/
6 ECTS
6 ECTS
3 ECTS
 
Grades are given as �?~Fail�?T or Pass�?T


Course language is Swedish.
Department offering the course: IFM.
Director of Studies: Agneta Johansson
Examiner:
Link to the course homepage at the department


Course Syllabus in Swedish

Linköping Institute of Technology
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Contact: TFK , val@tfk.liu.se
Last updated: 09/06/2007