COURSE UNIT TITLE

: ADVANCES IN AQUATIC PHOTOSYNTHESIS

Description of Individual Course Units

Course Unit Code Course Unit Title Type Of Course D U L ECTS
CDK 5028 ADVANCES IN AQUATIC PHOTOSYNTHESIS ELECTIVE 2 0 0 7

Offered By

Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences

Level of Course Unit

Second Cycle Programmes (Master's Degree)

Course Coordinator

PROFESSOR DOCTOR NIHAYET BIZSEL

Offered to

MARINE LIVING RESOURCES

Course Objective

To supply the students who are interested and/or educated in marine and environmental sciences with the most updated information and knowledge on the primary production and the all abiotic and biotic processes in aquatic systems. The course explaines fundamentals concepts, especially biochemical and biophysical mechanisms, not only in terms of moleculer processes, but also in terms of underlying physical and chemical processes.

Learning Outcomes of the Course Unit

1   Discuss what occurs in the light-dependent and light-independent processes of photosynthesis, where these reactions occur, how ATP formation occur
2   Understand photosynthetic pigments, structure of a chloroplasts, photolysis, carbon fixation
3   Identify the products of photosynthesis
4   Understand biogeochemical cycle

Mode of Delivery

Face -to- Face

Prerequisites and Co-requisites

None

Recomended Optional Programme Components

None

Course Contents

Week Subject Description
1 HISTORY OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS Discovery of photosynthesis, Discover of oxygen, Importance of light and chlorophyll, Role of carbon dioxide, conversion of light energy; After the discovery
2 AN INTRODUCTION TO PHOTOSYNTHESIS IN AQUATIC SYSTEMS A description of the overall photosynthetic process, An introduction to oxidation-reduction reactions, The photosynthetic apparatus, The origin and phylogeny of photoautotrophs, Similarities and differences in the photosynthetic processes in the algal classes, The study of photosynthesis: a coalescence of disciplines
3 THE PHYSICAL NATURE OF LIGHT The nature and Scattering of light, Light absorption, Optical absorption, THE PHOTOSYNTHETIC LIGHT REACTIONS The photosynthetic unit and the discovery of reaction centers, Action spectra and the evidence for two photosystems, The maximum quantum yield of photosynthesis, The efficiency of photochemistry
4 PHOTOSYNTHETIC ELECTRON TRANSPORT AND PHOTOPHOSPHORYLATION The Z scheme, The donor side of photosystem II: Discovery of the S states, The formation of a radical pair in photosystem II, The acceptor side of photosystem II, Photophosphorylation, The acceptor side of photosystem I, Cyclic electron flow around photosystem I, The Mehler reaction, Regulation of the fluxes of ATP
5 THE PATH OF CARBON IN PHOTOSYNTHESIS The physics and chemistry in inorganic carbon in aquatic environment, The Calvin-Benson cycle, Does inorganic carbon supply limit photosynthesis and growth in nature
6 PHOTORESPIRATION Light and respiration, Site of photorespiration, Glycolate metabolism and photorespiration,
7 BACTERIAL PHOTOSYNTHESIS Electron transport, Photophosphorylation, Carbon assimilation in photosynthetic bacteria, Photolysis of water
8 MIDTERM
9 PHOTOSYNTHESIS IN CONTINUOUS LIGHT The photosynthesis-irradiance curve, Light saturated photosynthesis, Supraoptimal irradiance
10 MAKING CELLS The chemical composition of aquatic photosynthetic organisms, Nutrient assimilation, Nitrogen, Nitrate reductase, Phosphorus, Sulfate, The essential role of respiration in biosynthesis, Balanced and unbalanced growth
11 PHOTOSYNTHESIS AND PRIMARY PRODUCTION IN NATURE Estimating photosynthesis in aquatic ecosystems, Measurements of rates of gas exchange, Integrated water-column photosynthesis, Temporal variations in light in aquatic ecosystems, Horizontal sections of photosynthetic efficiency, Factors affecting the rate of photosynthesis
12 AQUATIC PHOTOSYNTHESIS IN BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLES Forcing and feedbacks in the earth climate system, The supply of nutrients, The concepts of limitation, Redfield ratios, Primary productivity in the present ocean, Climate change and the industrial revolution, The evolution and ecology of aquatic photautotrophs
13 STUDENT ASSIGNMENT (DISCUSSION)
14 STUDENT ASSIGNMENT (DISCUSSION)

Recomended or Required Reading

Falkowski, P. G. and Raven, J. A., Aquatic photosynthesis. Capital City Press, USA, 1997.
Falkowski, P. G. and Avril, D. W. (eds), Primary Productivity and Biogeochemical Cycles in the Sea. Plenium Press, New York, 1992.
Devlin, R. M. and Barker, A. L., Photosynthesis. Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, New York, 1971.

Planned Learning Activities and Teaching Methods

Lectures will be held as presentations.

Assessment Methods

SORTING NUMBER SHORT CODE LONG CODE FORMULA
1 MTE MIDTERM EXAM
2 ASG ASSIGNMENT
3 FIN FINAL EXAM
4 FCG FINAL COURSE GRADE MTE * 0.25 + ASG *0.25 +FIN *0.50
5 RST RESIT
6 FCGR FINAL COURSE GRADE (RESIT) MTE * 0.25 + ASG *0.25 +RST *0.50


*** Resit Exam is Not Administered in Institutions Where Resit is not Applicable.

Further Notes About Assessment Methods

None

Assessment Criteria

To be announced.

Language of Instruction

English

Course Policies and Rules

To be announced.

Contact Details for the Lecturer(s)

To be announced.

Office Hours

To be announced.

Work Placement(s)

None

Workload Calculation

Activities Number Time (hours) Total Work Load (hours)
Lectures 13 3 39
Preparation for midterm exam 1 10 10
Preparation for final exam 1 15 15
Preparing assignments 2 15 30
Preparations before/after weekly lectures 13 5 65
Midterm 1 4 4
Final 1 8 8
TOTAL WORKLOAD (hours) 171

Contribution of Learning Outcomes to Programme Outcomes

PO/LOPO.1PO.2PO.3PO.4PO.5PO.6
LO.1455122
LO.2455122
LO.3455122
LO.4455122