From catchment to coast: Northern inland waters and global change

Master course for biology students - principally aimed at MSc-students specializing in Freshwater Ecology. The course is available as a singular course.

Students will gain an interdisciplinary perspective on key physical, chemical and biological processes driving northern inland waters in the context of ongoing global change. The focus of the course is on the ecology of Arctic and subarctic aquatic ecosystems, including lakes and rivers, and taking a ‘catchment to coast’ approach. This course covers the following main subjects: limnology, hydrology, biogeochemistry, stream ecology, and food web ecology. In addition, ecological stoichiometry, ecosystem ecology, and meta-ecosystem ecology will be covered as sub-themes. The above-mentioned topics will also be presented in the context of how ongoing global changes, including changes to temperature, precipitation patterns, and chemical cycling can affect the ecology and biogeochemistry of northern inland waters and the ecosystem services they provide. 

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.

BSc- or MSc-level course work in ecology , chemistry, and freshwater or marine science is highly recommended, but not required.

Students will learn:

• Fundamental concepts in limnology and freshwater ecology, with a focus on key physical, chemical and biological processes in northern streams, rivers and lakes
• The role of inland waters in the northern landscape, taking a ‘catchment to coast’ approach to understand links between land, inland waters and the sea.
• Key impacts of ongoing global change (climate change in particular) on northern inland waters and the services they provide
• Selected current field and lab methods in limnology and freshwater ecology, including analysis and interpretation of resulting data

Students will have the ability to:

• Actively engage with scientific literature in the fields of limnology, freshwater ecology, and global change ecology
• Synthesize and integrate concepts presented in lectures, course readings, and hands-on activities
• Apply core methods in field sampling, lab analysis, and data interpretation
• Take an interdisciplinary and holistic approach when discussing key drivers, processes, and ongoing changes in northern inland waters, and how this understanding can be applied for management of these ecosystems.

General competence:

• Acquire a critical view of published scientific literature on the topic
• Competence in leading discussion sessions with peers
• Understand scientific literature, interpret figures and data, write reports and present scientific literature to a diverse audience

Recommended prerequisites

BIO-2017 Ecology, KJE-1001 Introduction to chemistry and the chemistry of biology

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-3518 Limnology 5 stp

The course is structured as:

• Six weeks of lectures/seminars (2 x 2h lectures, 1 x 2h seminar per week)
• Two day field trip (16 hours) followed by one day of lab activities (6 hours)
• One day for data analyses (3 hours), final presentations (3 hours), wikipedia project (2 hours), and rewing course content (2 hours).

In total, 56 of in-person instruction hours will be taught over 5 weeks.

Lectures by instructors (1 h each) will be followed by interactive seminars/discussions (1h each).

In week 4, students will participate in a one-day field trip to Takvatn, where they will become acquainted with sampling methods and field protocols. Students will be divided in small groups that will focus on complementary aspects of the lake ecosystem. Water and benthic invertebrate samples will be taken back to the laboratory at UiT and analyzed with the students, guaranteeing a complete understanding of all the steps involved in sampling, preservation, and analyses of key limnological parameters. Finally, the students will present their results to the class in the final meeting.

The combination of targeted lectures, interactive seminars/discussions (e.g. paper critiques, student-led discussion panels/debates), and hands on activities (field work, lab analysis, data skills development through problem sets) will provide students with the expertise and knowledge to further develop their skills and competence within northern inland freshwater ecosystems.

Language of instruction and examination

This module is open for exchange students with bachelor’s degree in biology.

Do you have questions about this module? Please check this website to contact the course coordinator for exchange students at the faculty.

More info about the coursework requirements

Participation in seminars is mandatory. In addition, students will be required to deliver small written assignments and are expected to participate actively to seminar discussions and field and lab activities.

Approved work requirements have a duration of 3 years, from the semester in which the work requirements were taken.

Re-sit examination