At the end of the course you are able within the context of global or regional biodiversity outlooks:
- to contribute in a multidisciplinary team to a scientific paper and an oral presentation that synthesizes the current body of knowledge on a relevant biodiversity research issue and concludes on innovative research questions
- to perform a biodiversity assessment for (riverine) ecosystems with the BIO-SAFE model
- to derive species sensitivity distributions for environmental stressors and subsequently to calculate potentially affected fractions of species assemblages and to reflect critically on uncertainties
- to explain contemporary theory on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning and to critically reflect on concepts and indicators for biodiversity assessment.
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The course gives an overview of contemporary scientific concepts and theoretical backgrounds concerning biological diversity. Subsequently, the focus will be on the importance of biodiversity for functioning of (semi) aquatic ecosystems and the assessment of biodiversity values in river systems. The course will be concluded with reviews on current themes in biodiversity research. In more details the course is scheduled in deifferent learning units:
• Biological diversity: concepts and theory.
This learning unit deals with concepts and theory on biological diversity. The focus will be on key questions, such as: What is a species, what is biodiversity? How to measure and to value biodiversity at various spatial and temporal scales? What are key factors determining biological diversity? In addition, attention will be paid to extinction of species (the concept of critical population size; irreplacebility of species, global biodiversity and indicators of recent decline) and conservation of biodiversity (legal protection of biodiversity and restoration measures for biodiversity).
• Species diversity and ecosystem functioning.
The second learning unit deals with the role of biodiversity in ecosystem functioning. This issue will be elaborated for various types of aquatic ecosystems and wetlands such as seagrass dominated ecosystems, riverine ecosystems, coral reefs, mangroves and wet grasslands.
• Biodiversity assessment and valuation.
In this learning unit attention will be focussed on ecological status assessments in water- and nature management. Biodiversity assessment and valuation will be elaborated for case studies on biodiversity in riverine ecosystems (e.g. the application of the BIO-SAFE model and species sensitivity distributions).
• Current themes in biodiversity research.
The course will be concluded with reviews of current themes in biodiversity research. This themes will change every year, based on availability of supervisors. Examples of biodiversity themes are:
• Biodiversity and ecosystem services
• Biodiversity and agricultural practice
• Appropriate biodiversity assessments
• Species traits as a key to understand anthropogenic impacts on ecosystems
• Neobiota: winners and losers
• Balancing negative and positive effects of invasive species in ecological risk assessments
• Biodiversity and novel ecosystems
• Biodiversity and fisheries
• Biodiversity and ecosystem engineers
• The economics of biodiversity.
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