MAS 579 - Coastal Ecosystem Dynamics

Institution:

University of South Alabama

Subject:

Marine Sciences

Description:

Coastal Ecosystem Dynamics will allow students to investigate the basic principles of ecosystem structure and function. The course is divided into 2 parts: an instructional phase for learning basics of ecosystem modeling, and a student-led investigation of the structure and function of a variety of coastal ecosystems. This approach will give the student a set of quantitative tools for modeling ecosystems. Also, students will learn to evaluate differences and similarities of energy and nutrient processing in disparate ecosystems. There will be one 2 hr class meeting each week during which students will learn to use the ecological modeling software packages 'Ecopath' and 'Ecoism'. During the initial period, students will 'dissect' published models (obtained from the Internet) as a mechanism to understand the utility of ecosystem modeling as well as the basics of this particular software. The second half of the course will be devoted to student-constructed ecosystem models. The models will be constructed from data and pathway descriptions in Alongi's 'Coastal Ecosystem Processes' (CRC Press). A synthesis of these models will be constructed and placed on the WWW.

Credits:

2.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Lecture

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

www.southalabama.edu

Phone Number:

(251) 460-6101

Regional Accreditation:

Southern Association of Colleges and Schools

Calendar System:

Semester

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