NBIK15007U Advanced Ecology

Volume 2024/2025
Education

MSc Programme in Biology
MSc Programme in Biology with a minor subject

Content

A high-level introduction to ecological processes, including trophic interactions and within- and between-species interactions.

Learning Outcome

Knowledge:

  • Key concepts, theories and hypotheses in ecology
  • The spatial and temporal distribution of species and organisms
  • The biology of fungi, protists, plants and animals of importance to ecosystem function and/or which are typical of different environments
  • The function of freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems and their interaction with local, regional and/or global systems, including global change


Skills:

  • Hypothesize, independently formulate and conduct empirical studies/experiments, in the field and in the laboratory, and explain, communicate and put into perspective a scientific problem, both orally and in writing
  • Use relevant experimental techniques, methods of quantification and equipment, both in the field and in the laboratory, including the competences required to evaluate the complexity of the data collected, sources of error and methodological uncertainties
  • Summarise - orally and in writing - a research subject using original scientific literature as the basis
  • Make the case for a scientific thesis using empirical knowledge and scientific inference
  • Use quantitative, including statistical, methods of relevance to the subject area


Competences:

  • Understand and present the structure and function of complex ecosystems
  • Manage, advice on, and conduct research into ecosystems, based on in-depth biological knowledge
  • Illustrate and analyse a biological phenomenon by distinguishing between immediate (how?) and evolutionary (why?) causes and explanations
  • Explain and discuss the distribution and density of species on local and regional scales
  • Explain the important physical, chemical and biological characteristics of different ecosystems, and understand how organisms adapt and respond to changes in them
  • Analyse the occurrence and activity of organisms in relation to the physical/chemical environment
  • Explain and discuss the evolutionary adaptations of organisms to a given environment and their behaviour in relation to/response to both members of the same species and individuals of other species
  • Evaluate interactions between individuals at different trophic levels, e.g. plants/herbivores, prey/predators, and host organisms/​parasites/​mutualists/​diseases

See Absalon

Academic qualifications equivalent to a BSc degree is recommended.
Teaching will follow three main lines:
- Code-based teaching will involve a visit to field location, in which students will investigate water, soil, biotic communities (flora, fauna microbes etc.) and processes using relevant methods. The samples and observations from the field will subsequently be used during laboratory work.
- Concurrently, question-driven teaching will focus on the theory of ecological, behavioural, and evolutionary principles and will consist of lectures, seminars, and computer-based exercises.
- Problem-based learning is applied in an individual essay, which aims at answering ecological questions using empirical data and scientific inference.
  • Category
  • Hours
  • Lectures
  • 25
  • Class Instruction
  • 15
  • Preparation
  • 75
  • Practical exercises
  • 30
  • Excursions
  • 8
  • Project work
  • 50
  • Exam
  • 3
  • Total
  • 206
Written
Oral
Individual
Collective
Continuous feedback during the course of the semester
Peer feedback (Students give each other feedback)
Credit
7,5 ECTS
Type of assessment
Written assignment, 9 days
On-site written exam, 3 hours under invigilation
Type of assessment details
Evaluation based on individual written exam and individual essay. The written exam contributes 70% of the final grade, while the individual essay contributes 30%.

The on-site written exam is an ITX exam.
See important information about ITX-exams at Study Information, menu point: Exams -> Exam types and rules -> Written on-site exams (ITX)
Exam registration requirements

80% participation in exercise classes is mandatory

Aid
All aids allowed

As the exam is an ITX-exam, the University will make computers available to students at the ITX-exam.

Students are not permitted to bring digital aids like computers, tablets, calculators, mobile phones etc.

Books, notes, and similar materials can be brought in paper form or uploaded before the exam and accessed digitally from the ITX computer. Read more about this at Study Information

Marking scale
7-point grading scale
Censorship form
No external censorship
Several internal examiners
Re-exam

Oral re-exam, 20 mins with 20 mins preparation, all aids allowed. 

If the individual essay has not been approved, a new essay must be handed in no later than three weeks before the re-exam. 

If the exam registration requirement is not fulfilled, the student must follow the course again. 

Criteria for exam assesment

In order to obtain the grade 12 the student should convincingly and accurately demonstrate the knowledge, skills and competences described under Learning Outcome.