3573.21 - Marine Biology II

3573.21

Marine Biology II

7.5

Marine Biology I

To provide an overview of functions and adaptations of marine plants and animals

The physical and chemical environment and how organisms in the ocean adapt to changes in the environment, e.g. temperature, salinity, osmotic pressure, oxygen, and light. Procreation, dispersal, and migration. Living in fluid. Diversity and living modes of benthic animals. Seafloor processes. Seaweeds.

Lectures, seminars, and exercises

After passing the module the student will be able to: o Explain ecological and evolutionary main principles in regards to marine biology as well as describe important scientific concepts such as classification, ecological interaction, hierarchy, and marine biogeography. o Recount chemical and physical concepts in regards to marine environment as for instance salinity, oxygen, light, temperature, as well as physiological performance and cyclical behavioural and physiological response. o Explain how organisms adapt to the physical marine environment for instance in regards to temperature, salinity, and oxygen. o Discuss life in a fluid medium; explain density, viscosity, Reynold’s number, as well as hydrodynamic phenomena. o Explain factors controlling the dynamics of phytoplankton and zooplankton in the ocean, including spring blooming of phytoplankton and vertical migration of zooplankton. o Discuss food chains / food webs and the importance of fishing operations. o Discuss ecological and evolutionary factors in relation to reproduction, types of sexuality, demography, migration, and biogeographical structures. o Explain classification, reproduction, and the distribution of seaweeds and the factors controlling the amount of seaweed at the seashore, including trophic cascades. o Provide a brief account of seabirds and whales. o Describe the physical and chemical properties of sediment as well as functional main groups such as filter-feeders, deposit-feeders, scavengers, and predators. o Describe the challenges of seashore organisms, among other factors in regards to drying out, temperature, oxygen, competition, and predation and how this creates a zonation of seashore organisms. o Provide an explanation of biodiversity in the ocean and of some tools used for measuring biodiversity.

A four-hour closed-book written exam. Hand-in assignments will also be marked and an average of these will count as 20% of the course mark. Students opting for re-examination, however, are not required to submit hand-ins, in which case the written exam counts as 100% of the module mark

External

7-

Marine biology: function, biodiversity, Ecology / Jeffrey S. Levinton, Stony Brook University. - Fifth edition. ISBN: 978-0190625276 + copied materials. Selected articles.

Petur Steingrund