Student information

Climate Change Ecology, WEC-20306

This course explores the interactions of biological systems with the climate system and reflects on the impacts of past and current climate changes on different levels of ecological organization (i.e. populations, communities and ecosystems) to prepare students for the challenges of the future.

Course Description

Understanding how global climate change affects ecological interactions is fundamentally important for successful conservation and management of ecological resources.

The course complements classical courses on ecological theory and practice by focusing on the implications of climate change for the composition, structure and functioning of ecological systems. The target groups are students from BBN, complemented with students from other programmes.

Learning outcomes

After successful completing this course, students are expected to be able to:

  • Identify direct and indirect effects of climate change on ecological systems.
  • Apply ecological knowledge to critically evaluate the impacts of climate change on the conservation and management of resources.
  • Formulate a research proposal on a climate change ecology related question.
  • Communicate scientific findings in written, oral and visual presentations.

Learning materials and resources

Educational Activities

We use a combination of teaching methods that require active participation by all students. Students work in small teams and individually to present a lecture, write a scientific proposal, and prepare a knowledge clip. Lecturers will present a set of lectures overarching main themes in climate change ecology.