Flow of matter and energy. Primary producers, description by type and habitat. Formation of organic matter. Forms of measurement of production. Food chains and networks. Trophic parameters and ecological pyramids. Limiting factors of primary production. Numerical problems

Specific Objectives

Let the student become familiar with the numerical models of energy transfer and matter in ecosystems Know how to solve numerical problem issues

Dedication

Basic knowledge of the great cycles of terrestrial elements (carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus) and their relation with the oceanic and sea water.

Specific Objectives

Understand the particularities of the great cycles of terrestrial elements (carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus) and their relation with the marine environment

Dedication

Population dynamics depending on the type of organisms. Population density and distribution of organisms. Mathematical expressions that can explain the dynamics of a population (logistic, exponential growth). Tables of life and projection of a population. Reproductive strategies. Competition, density and abundance. Interspecific relationships and effects in growth models (Lotka-Volterra model). Principle of mutual exclusion, distribution of resources and niches. Microbial Loop. Grazing and predation mechanisms (functional, numerical and growth response to increased prey).

Specific Objectives

That the student acquires the knowledge to understand the use of the populations like tool to determine the quality of the environmental systems. To have the numerical basis to understand and quantify the effects of man on environmental systems. To know how to solve numerical problems of population ecology

Dedication

Food webs and their control (top-down vs bottom-up), examples in the marine environment of the different control systems and what it will imply for the different ecosystems and for their study. Key predators and the role they play in marine ecosystems. Alterations of food webs due to fishing or external phenomena. Effects of large-scale changes due to atmospheric patterns (ENSO, NAO, ...). Concept of trophic cascade. Spatial distribution of organisms (patterns, studies and forms of measurement). Temporal structures, colonization and succession in the different marine environments.

Specific Objectives

That the student acquires the knowledge to understand the use of communities as a tool to determine the quality of marine environmental systems. To have the numerical basis to understand and quantify the effects of man on marine environmental systems. Knowing to solve problems about community ecology

Dedication

The students will be divided into groups of 3 or 4. Each group will be assigned a project on a topic related to the course syllabus that they will have to develop. The work must analyze state-of-the-art scientific literature and subsequently develop a text that includes a synthesis of the works read on the subject. The written text will be delivered at least two weeks before the oral presentation that will be made in front of the whole class. The material from the different assignments will form part of the material to be assessed in the subject.

Specific Objectives

Improve the acquisition of environmental knowledge about the marine environment and the management of bibliographic information

Dedication

Dedication