3528.16 - Field Course in Aquatic, Marine and Terrestrial Ecology

3528.16

Field Course in Aquatic, Marine and Terrestrial Ecology

7.5

B. Sc. In biology at the 6. semester

To learn how to collect biological and chemical samples in the field and how to conserve and analyze the samples. To learn how to identify the most common animal- and plant species in aquatic and terrestrial environments and to study environmental influences on composition, distribution and abundance of plants and animals. To learn the student an ecological view of nature To learn to write scientific reports based on the collected samples

Aquatic ecology: River fauna will be collected and identified. Changes in the fauna through the course of the river and factors causing these changes will be studied. Marine ecology: Benthic flora and fauna in a Faroese fjord will be collected from the littoral and sublittoral zone. Environmental influences on distribution and abundance will be studied. In the pelagic environment in a Faroese fjord, physical hydrography, light, nutrients, oxygen, primary production, phytoplankton and zooplankton will be studied. An ecological analysis of plankton and abiotic environmental parameters affecting plankton distribution, abundance, production and fluxes will be carried out. Terrestrial ecology: Various terrestrial experiments and field studies will be carried out depending on the weather conditions during the excursion week. See outcome examples in “Learning outcome pts 10-17.

Field- and laboratory work and report writing.

Having past the course the student is able to: 1. Follow standard procedures and methods in finding sample sites used year after year for repeated studies. At the same time the student learns the importance of following these procedures and how to take samples at the various stations. 2. To do an overall habitat description of aquatic study areas and specific study sites. 3. Produce a taxonomic list over aquatic animals at a suitable study area using identification litterature and keys and do a biodiversity comparrison between various study areas. 4. Analyse the structural composition of a fjord and the importance this has for life in the fjord. 5. Identify the Secchi-depth and measure oxygen, temperature, depth, salinity and fluorescence using a socalled CTD (conductivity, temperature, depth). 6. Use the relationship between fluorescence and chlorophyll a to measure the biomass of phytoplankton. 7. Collect phyto- and zooplankton and analyse it in a laboratory using appropriate equipment. 8. Analyse type and amount of nutrients in seawater samples. 9. Analyse the amount og organic and inorganic material in sediments (The terrestrial part of the excursion is determined by the weather condition during the field excursion. The learning outcome will vary depending on what exercises will be chosen (points 10-16 below). 10. Do a scientific comparison between biotopes by using pitfall-traps and plant-squares to study animals and plants at different localities and hight above sea level. 11. Produce a taxonomic list containing terrestrial animals and plants at a suitable study area using various identification litterature and keys and do a biodiversity comparrison between various study areas. 12. Examine the microclimate at the North, West, East and South side of a hillock and its effect on plants and animals. 13. Study diurnal activity patterns at a seabird colony and its effect on number of birds in the colony 14. Study the soil fauna by using Berlese-trap. 15. Understand the effect and potential danger of an introduced species by studying relative abundance of the introduced “New Zealand flatworm” and earthworms in a suitable study area. 16. Understand the complex relationships in nature and how various parts of an ecosystem influence other parts and thus how the natural world has to be seen as an interconnected mechanism rather than a certain number of isolated parts.

Approval of reports. Passed/not passed.

Internal

P-

Manuals and handbooks handed out by the various teachers

Jóhannis Danielsen