Ecology of Aquatic Systems

Code:

MA126

Acronym:

ESA

Keywords
Classification	Keyword
OFICIAL	Environmental Sciences and Ecology

Instance: 2009/2010 - 2S

Active?	Yes
Responsible unit:	Aquatic Production
Course/CS Responsible:	Aquatic Sciences

Cycles of Study/Courses

Acronym	No. of Students	Study Plan	Curricular Years	Credits UCN	Credits ECTS	Contact hours	Total Time
LCMA	42	Plan 2007 to 2011	1	-	5	50	135

Teaching language

Portuguese

Objectives

Transmission of knowledge of the fundamentals of aquatic ecology, methods of fieldwork and evaluation of data.

Program

Theoretical lessons:

I. Oceans, classification of the marine environment, and currents
Definitions, structure and zonation of the physical space; distribution, boundaries, areas, volumes and depths, Coriolis, Ekman spiral, gyres and eddies, surface and bottom currents, cold wall, current system at 0º in the Atlantic.

II. Classification of the estuarine, lagunar and freshwater environments
Definitions, structure and zonation of continental or inland waters (subterranean and cave water; surface current and stagnated waters).

III. Abiotic factors
Physical-chemical parameters, macro- and micronutrients, dissolved and particular organic matter, hydrostatic pressure, movement of ascension, illumination.

IV. Biotic factors
Definitions (detritus, phyto- and zooplankton, seston, neuston, pleuston, and necton), seasonal variations between nutrients, phyto- and zooplankton in high, low and middle latitudes, and in the North Pacific Ocean, grazing, vertical migration, life cycles, general informations about necton (molluscs, fish, reptiles and marine mammals).

V. Methods and instruments
Necessities and general problems of oceanographic instruments, research vessels, equipment, instruments and methods for physical-chemical and biological sampling.

VI. Bactéria
Forms and functions, horizontal and vertical distribution; processes and production, examples of the Baltic and the Black Sea.

VII. Primary Production
General scheme, unities and distribution of primary production in the oceans; photosynthetic and respiratory quotients; adaptation to light; compensation and critical depth; production and biomass development of phytoplankton in a water column – development of a bloom.

VIII. Upwelling
Causes, definitions, localizations, examples of the neritical and oceanic provinces; food chains in upwelling areas; biological production.

IX. Benthos
Definitions – size, feeding types, locomotion; larvae and development; biomass distribution; benthic societies: sand, mud and rock, with examples; phyto- and zoobenthos of hard and soft sediments; benthic interactions; benthos in great depths; food chains and trophic web scheme.

X. Benthos research methods
Study of the sediments – granulometry, organic content; presentation of statistical parameters: abundancy, frequency, constancy, biomass, affinity, similarity, biodiversity, evenness and coefficient of dispersion.

XI. Littoral, caracteristics and problems
Definitions; coastal geomorphology; zonation; tides and waves; other abiotic factors; biotic factors like competition for space and food; colonization of different substrates, characteristic species of the littoral zones; erosion; human influence and pollution (definitions, origins and problems): introduction of domestic and industrial waste water; artificial illumination; civil construction; professional and artisanal fisheries; recreational activities; protection and conservation of vulnerable areas; «littoral parks».

XII. Estuaries
Types and classifications; abiotic and biotic factors; “brackish water laws”; representative species; resident, periodical, summer guest, casual, and migratory species of fish; problems – erosion, sand digging, urban pressure, pollution and eutrofication.

XIII. Secondary productivity
Definitions, unities, «Edge Índex», grazing, filtration quotient; calculation of production, biomass-turnover-approach, Allen method; ecological efficiency and trophic levels; food chains, benthos production, structure of a food web, quantification of trophic levels.

Practical lessons:

1. Zonation
Intertidal zonation of Aguda´s beach, identification and statistical avaliation of representative species of the marine fauna and flora, determination of colonization differences of a rocky and sandy beach.

2. Dunes
Formation, colonization and zonation of dunes, representative species, necessity of creating littoral parks.

Mandatory literature

Gray; The ecology of marine sediments, Press Syndicate Cambridge, 1981
Russell-Hunter; Aquatic Productivity, Macmillan Publishing Co. Inc. New York, 1989
Raffaeli & Hawkins; Intertidal ecology, Chapman & Hall, London, 1996
Barnes & Mann; Fundamentals of Aquatic Ecosystems., Blackwell Scientif Publications, Oxford, 1980
Cushing & Walsh; The ecology of the seas, Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford, 1976
Kaiser et al; Marine Ecology, Oxford University Press, 2005
Tardent; Marine Biology, Thieme, Stuttgart, Germany, 1994
Levington; Marine Biology, Oxford University Press, 2001

Teaching methods and learning activities

Theoretical lessons with projection of slides, overhead transparencies, and videos,
Practical lessons in the intertidal zone of Aguda´s beach, in the Dune Park, and in the Littoral Station of Aguda (aquarium).

Evaluation Type

Evaluation with final exam

Eligibility for exams

2/3 of practical lessons

Calculation formula of final grade

written examination

Classification improvement

written examination