autumn 2020
BIO-3024 Northern Biodiversity Hotspots: taxonomy field courses - 5 ECTS

Application deadline

Concerns only admission to singular courses: Applicants from Nordic countries: 1 June for the autumn semester and 1 December for the spring semester. Exchange students and Fulbright students: 1 October for the spring semester and 15 April for the autumn semester.

Due to the planning of the field course you also need to apply here:

Apply for BIO-3024

Application deadline: 1st of June


Type of course

Intensive course extending over one week. The course can be taken as a singular course.
The course is limited to 15 students.

Admission requirements

Local admission, application code 9371 - Master's level singular course.

Admission requires a Bachelor`s degree (180 ECTS) or equivalent qualification, with a major in biology of minimum 80 ECTS.


Course overlap

If you pass the examination in this course, you will get an reduction in credits (as stated below), if you previously have passed the following courses:

BIO-8024 Northern Biodiversity Hotspots: taxonomy field courses 5 stp

Course content

Biodiversity loss, often referred to as biodiversity crisis, is a global environmental problem causing international concern and demanding urgent counteracting measures. Biodiversity is commonly defined in terms of a number of species present in a particular environment, or in total in the world. This makes species not only one of the fundamental biological concepts but also a focus of global conservation efforts. That is why practical experience with morphology based species identification is in high demand in both basic and applied biological research.

During the year 2020 we offer two options for the field courses. The courses are organized and funded by ForBio - Research school in Biosystematics http://www.forbio.uio.no/

Part 1. 13-18 July, 2020 "Genetic Monitoring of arctic plant-insect networks", NIBIO Svanhovd research station. Students will receive hands-on training in sampling and identification of plants and insects in different habitats in the northern forest-tundra ecotone, as well as an understanding of the uses of the latest genetic methods in research on the structure and functioning of arctic plant-herbivore-parasitoid and plant-pollinator networks. This field course provides a good complement for ForBio courses on barcoding and metabarcoding methods. Svanhovd station is coordinating a research project on barcode-based monitoring of northern environments and insect communities. Applications of DNA barcode data on the diverse insect communities inhabiting the forest-tundra ecotone will be discussed during the lectures. See additional information on ForBio webpages. https://www.forbio.uio.no/events/courses/2020/ForBio_NIBIO_Genetic_monitoring.html

Part 2 . 9-14 August, 2020 "Vascular plant flora of central Sweden" is run at the field station Tovetorp, Stockholm University (58°56'50''N, 17°08'56''E ) in Södermanland 40 km SW of Södertälje, there will be excursions during day-time and teacher-led lectures combined with student presentations and hands-on exercises in e.g. Case studies during evenings. Tovetorp is strategically located with species rich habitats as seashores, rich fens, calcareous rocks, broadleaved deciduous forests and coniferous forests as well as bogs and lakes nearby.

See additional information on ForBio webpages: https://www.forbio.uio.no/events/courses/2020/vascular%20plant%20field%20biology-forbio-slu-2020.html ForBio members that are MSc-, PhD-students or PostDocs in Norway can have travel and living costs covered (contact ForBio) http://www.forbio.uio.no/events/


Objectives of the course

You learn applied taxonomy, identification and field collection skills, as well as specimen preparation and mounting for the collection storage.

Language of instruction and examination

English

Teaching methods

Intensive course(s) extending over one week. The teaching comprises daily field excursions and laboratory work, including preparation and mounting of the specimens for preservation in museum collections.

Assessment

Oral exam. Examination will include identification of collected specimens (from the groups not mentioned during this course) using published keys in Norwegian or English. Grades: Passed/Failed.

Re-sit exam:
There will be a re-sit examination for students that did not pass the previous ordinary examination.


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  • About the course
  • Campus: Tromsø |
  • ECTS: 5
  • Course code: BIO-3024