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Ecosystem roles of megafauna in the past, present, and future—theory and methods for basic and applied science (2023)


ECTS credits:

4 ECTS

 

Course parameters:

Language: English

Level of course PhD course:

Time of year: 6 - 10 november 2023

No. of contact hours/hours: 100 hours total: 60 contact hours, 40 hours preparation and project work.

Capacity limits: 15 Students

Course fee: 1250 DKK

 

Objectives of the course:

This short course will provide students with a general overview of megafauna ecosystem ecology including the evolutionary history and biogeography of megafauna, current theoretical concepts related to megafauna-ecosystem interactions, practical analysis of megafauna trait and occurrence datasets, overview of megafauna conservation and restoration ecology, as well as rigorous assessment of ongoing and future megafauna-based rewilding projects.

 

Learning outcomes and competences:

At the end of the course, the student should be able to:

- Evaluate the role of megafauna for ecosystem functioning and ecological restoration.

- Identify key datasets for fossil and modern megafauna studies and their advantages and limitations.

- Design and execute a short research project on megafauna ecosystem ecology and present it in a format that could be used for outreach, e.g for a popular science blog.

 

Compulsory programme:

Students must actively participate in lectures, course discussions, group projects, and workshops.

 

Course contents:

The course will consist of an engaging mixture of short lectures, discussion groups, field trips, and hands-on labs and will offer a detailed introduction to megafauna history and ecology.

 

Prerequisites:

A working knowledge of the statistical programming language R is necessary for the lab sections.

 

Name of lecturers:

Dr. Elizabeth le Roux

Dr. Robert Buitenwerf

Prof. Jens-Christian Svenning

 

Type of course/teaching methods:

Lectures, seminars, group project work, analysis workshops, field trips.

 

Literature:

Various primary literature sources will be used (including 25 scientific papers).

Students must have R installed on their computers before the course.

 

Course assessment:

Students will be assessed based on daily class participation and presentation and quality of a research project, which has to be reported in the format of a popular science blog, within 1 month after end of the course.

 

Provider:

Department of Biology

 

Time:

6 - 10 november 2023, 9:00-17:00 Monday through Friday (with extra lab work time in evenings)

 

Place:

Aarhus campus, field trips to either Lille Vildmose or Molslaboratoriet


Registration:

NB!: Course fee: 1250 DKK for expenses associated with a field trip.

Deadline for registration is 2 October 2023.

For registration: Applicants must submit a CV and one page motivation letter to Elizabeth le Roux (eleroux@bio.au.dk)

If you have any questions, please contact Elizabeth le Roux (eleroux@bio.au.dk)

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