Advanced Topics in Ecology and Evolution

EART32001 Advanced Topics in Ecology and Evolution 10 Semester 1 Undergraduate Level 6 Richard Bardgett Unit coordinator Susanne Shultz Unit coordinator 1 FHEQ level (Framework for Higher Education Qualifications) ' Last part of a Bachelors ' European Credit Transfer & Accumulation System Rating : 5.0 The unit will focus on current topics in ecology associated with major global environmental challenges, such as climate change, biodiversity conservation and human health. Each staff member will present three lectures and a workshop that highlight active and topical research areas. Workshops will involve critical assessment of scientific papers, the planning of ecological research on global change, proposal writing and communication of research plans in oral presentations.  The unit will focus on current topics in ecology associated with major global environmental challenges, such as climate change, biodiversity conservation and human health. Each staff member will present three lectures and a workshop that highlight active and topical research areas. Workshops will involve critical assessment of scientific papers, the planning of ecological research on global change, proposal writing and communication of research plans in oral presentations.  This unit examines recent advances in ecology with a strong emphasis on global environmental change and discoveries that have made major contributions to the field in recent years. Topics that will be covered include climate change impacts on terrestrial ecosystems, biodiversity conservation, microbiomes in a changing world, and consequences of changes in ecosystems for human health.  <table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tbody> <tr> <td colspan="2" style="width:481px;height:16px;">On the successful completion of the course, students will be able to:</td> <td style="width:72px;height:16px;">Developed</td> <td style="width:66px;height:16px;">Assessed</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width:63px;height:58px;"> ILO 1</td> <td style="width:418px;height:58px;">Identify direct and indirect effects of global climate change on the biodiversity and functioning of terrestrial ecosystems</td> <td style="width:72px;height:58px;"> X</td> <td style="width:66px;height:58px;"> X</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width:63px;height:66px;"> ILO 2</td> <td style="width:418px;height:66px;">Explain how nature-based solutions can contribute to climate change mitigation while supporting biodiversity and ecosystem services.</td> <td style="width:72px;height:66px;"> X</td> <td style="width:66px;height:66px;"> X</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width:63px;height:66px;">ILO 3</td> <td style="width:418px;height:66px;">Contextualise non-random patterns of anthropogenic land use change in terms of habitat and biodiversity protection.</td> <td style="width:72px;height:66px;">X</td> <td style="width:66px;height:66px;">X</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width:63px;height:66px;">ILO 4</td> <td style="width:418px;height:66px;">Discuss how both models and indicators can be used to identify range dynamics, population resilience and viability.</td> <td style="width:72px;height:66px;">X</td> <td style="width:66px;height:66px;">X</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width:63px;height:66px;">ILO 5</td> <td style="width:418px;height:66px;">Explain the nature and role of microbial communities in global biodiversity.</td> <td style="width:72px;height:66px;">X</td> <td style="width:66px;height:66px;">X</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width:63px;height:66px;">ILO 6</td> <td style="width:418px;height:66px;">Discuss experimental and computational methods for predicting and understanding ecological and evolutionary responses to environmental change</td> <td style="width:72px;height:66px;">X</td> <td style="width:66px;height:66px;">X</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width:63px;height:66px;">ILO 7</td> <td style="width:418px;height:66px;">Critically assess scientific papers and formulate a research proposal to address a specific ecological challenge related to global change.</td> <td style="width:72px;height:66px;">X</td> <td style="width:66px;height:66px;">X</td> </tr> </tbody></table>  Topics: Global change ecology and the Sustainable Development Goals (RDB/SS)Understanding species ranges: sources and sinks, distribution models and indicators of resilience (SS)Anthropogenic land use change, protected areas and living with nature (SS)EcoHealth: a holistic approach to human, animal and ecosystem health (SS)Climate change impacts on global terrestrial ecosystems and carbon cycle feedbacks (RDB)Climate extremes and their impacts on terrestrial ecosystems (RDB)Nature-based solutions for climate change and biodiversity restoration (RDB)Climate change and the microbial world (CK)Functional microbiomes – current approaches (CK)Experimental ecology and evolution of microbial communities: the role of resistance (CK)Course summary (RDB/SS/CK) Lecture-based (10 hours of content lectures, including an introductory lecture and nine topic lectures, and an additional revision lecture at the end of the course; see course content below for titles) supplemented by six workshops. Three of the workshops will be associated with lecture topics and based on recent literature, and three will involve the development, writing and presentation of a research proposal addressing an advanced topic in ecology.  3 Report 80% 7 Oral assessment/presentation 20% <table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width:102px;height:68px;">Assessment type</td> <td style="width:85px;height:68px;">% Weighting within unit</td> <td style="width:66px;height:68px;">Hand out and hand in dates</td> <td style="width:95px;height:68px;">Length</td> <td style="width:170px;height:68px;">How, when and what feedback is provided</td> <td style="width:123px;height:68px;">ILO tested</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width:102px;height:101px;">Abstractssummarisingresearchseminars</td> <td style="width:85px;height:101px;">50</td> <td style="width:66px;height:101px;"> </td> <td style="width:95px;height:101px;">2</td> <td style="width:170px;height:101px;">Written feedback at end of semester 1</td> <td style="width:123px;height:101px;">1, 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width:102px;height:101px;">Researchproposalwritten andpresented</td> <td style="width:85px;height:101px;">50</td> <td style="width:66px;height:101px;"> </td> <td style="width:95px;height:101px;">2</td> <td style="width:170px;height:101px;">Oral feedback given during special session at end of semester 1. Written feedback at end of semester 1</td> <td style="width:123px;height:101px;">1-7</td> </tr> </tbody></table>  <figure class="table"><table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td style="height:25px;width:204px;">Pre-requisite units</td><td style="height:25px;width:437px;">EART25001 Ecology and Conservation</td></tr><tr><td style="height:25px;width:204px;">Co-requisite units</td><td style="height:25px;width:437px;">none</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>  Lectures will be based on specific papers, which may change depending on recent advances in the field. Examples of references are provided below, but specific references will be provided during the course.Hannah, L (2021) Global Change Biology OR Rosenblum, E. (2021) Global Change BiologyTerrer, C., Phillips, R.P., Hungate, B.A. et al. (2021) A trade-off between plant and soil carbon storage under elevated CO 2. Nature, 591, ≈599-603.Nottingham, A.T., Meir, P., Velasquez, E. and Turner, B.L. (2020) Soil carbon loss by experimental warming in a tropical forest. Nature, 584, 234-237.Reichstein, M., Bahn, M., Ciais, P. et al. (2013) Climate extremes and the carbon cycle. Nature, 500, 287-295.Bastin, J.F., Finegold, Y., Garcia, C., Mollicone, D. et al. (2019) The global tree restoration potential. Science, 365, 76-79.Seddon, N., Chausson, A., Berry, P. et al. (2020) Understanding the value and limits of nature-based solutions to climate change and other global challenges. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, 375, 20190120.Gottdenker, N. L., Streicker, D. G., Faust, C. L., & Carroll, C. R. (2014). Anthropogenic land use change and infectious diseases: a review of the evidence. EcoHealth, 11, 619-632.Jetz, W., Wilcove, D. S., & Dobson, A. P. (2007). Projected impacts of climate and land-use change on the global diversity of birds. PLoS Biol, 5(6), e157.Papworth, S. K., Rist, J., Coad, L., & Milner‐Gulland, E. J. (2009). Evidence for shifting baseline syndrome in conservation. Conservation Letters, 2(2), 93-100. Thompson, L. R. et al. (2017) A communal catalogue reveals Earth's multiscale microbial diversity. Nature 551, 457-463, doi:10.1038/nature24621.  0 0 100 <figure class="table"><table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="0"><tbody><tr><td style="height:68px;width:139px;"> </td><td style="height:68px;width:85px;">Type</td><td style="height:9.75pt;padding:0cm;width:169.5pt;" width="226">Example student activity</td><td style="height:68px;width:75px;">Total Hours</td><td style="height:68px;width:160px;">New material</td><td style="height:68px;width:104px;">Consolidation and Practice</td></tr><tr><td style="height:39px;width:139px;">Contact time (students are in front of staff)</td><td style="height:39px;width:85px;">Lecture (new material)</td><td style="height:39px;width:75px;">Mostly listening & taking notes (mostly new material)</td><td style="height:39px;width:75px;">9</td><td style="height:39px;width:160px;">9</td><td style="height:39px;width:104px;"> </td></tr><tr><td> </td><td>Lecture (revision/examples)</td><td>Mostly listening & taking notes (no new material- revision of course)</td><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td></tr><tr><td style="height:101px;width:139px;"> </td><td style="height:101px;width:85px;">Practical (new material and practice. Typically 25-50% of practical time is spent on new material)</td><td style="height:101px;width:75px;">Interactive individual or group work (problem solving, experiments, watching demonstrations, describing and interpreting samples, paper-based exercises, computer-based exercises)</td><td style="height:101px;width:75px;"> </td><td style="height:101px;width:160px;"> </td><td style="height:101px;width:104px;"> </td></tr><tr><td style="height:101px;width:139px;"> </td><td style="height:101px;width:85px;">Tutorial</td><td style="height:101px;width:75px;">Interactive small group work</td><td style="height:101px;width:75px;"> </td><td style="height:101px;width:160px;"> </td><td style="height:101px;width:104px;"> </td></tr><tr><td> </td><td>Seminar/examples class</td><td>Working on and discussing questions </td><td>9</td><td> </td><td>9</td></tr><tr><td>Independent study time</td><td style="height:9.75pt;padding:0cm;width:131.5pt;" width="175">Pre/post lecture work</td><td>Reading own notes, re-solving examples, prep work, revisit podcast</td><td>9</td><td> </td><td> </td></tr></tbody></table></figure>