COURSE UNIT TITLE

: MARINE PHYTOPLANKTON ECOLOGY

Description of Individual Course Units

Course Unit Code Course Unit Title Type Of Course D U L ECTS
CDK 5043 MARINE PHYTOPLANKTON ECOLOGY ELECTIVE 3 1 1 8

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

This course focuses on the fundamental principles of biological oceanography as they relate to different marine ecosystems, in such a way that can be usefully applied in quality assessment, quality management and rehabilitation of natural aquatic environments. Practical laboratory exercises are designed to reinforce to identification and quantification of phytoplankton and measurements of water quality parameters with new techniques. These include field observations in the near shore environment. Through the assignment, the course aims to increase the capacity of the students to engage in scientific discussions and report on topics related to the
aquatic habitats expose to human impacts. The lab experiments on common measurement techniques used in water column biology will also be performed by emphasis on sampling design under different environmental conditions. Development of creativity and problemsolving skills is also a priority

Learning Outcomes of the Course Unit

1   To study fundamental principals and concepts of marine ecology and apply these concepts to understand the relationships of organisms to their environment.
2   To gain an appreciation for the complexity of human influence on ecosystems.
3   To introduce students to the different ecology of aquatic ecosystem
4   To survey of the phytoplankton
5   To introduce students to field techniques common to aquatic ecosystems: water quality parameters
6   To teach techniques for making environmental assessments using standard methods
7   To complete a survey of a local field study area and analyze the data and produce a report summarizing the findings
8   To gain experience in data analysis and presentation of results in standard scientific format.

Mode of Delivery

Face -to- Face

Prerequisites and Co-requisites

None

Recomended Optional Programme Components

None

Course Contents

Week Subject Description
1 Phytoplankton: Definitions and Terminology, Historical context, Diversification
2 Phytoplankton:General features, Construction and composition, Lab. Introduction to phytoplankton
3 Entrainment and distribution in the Pelagic:Motion in aquatic environments, Turbulence, Phytoplankton sinking and floating,Sinking and entrainment in natural turbulence, The spatial distribution of phytoplankton, Lab. Introduction to phytoplankton
4 Photosynthesis and carbon acquisition in phytoplankton: Essential biochemistry of photosynthesis, Light-dependent environmental sensitivity of photosynthesis, Sensitivity of aquatic photosynthesis to carbon sources,Capacity, achievement and fate of primary production , Lab. Phytoplankton and water
5 Nutrient uptake and assimilation in phytoplankton: Cell uptake and intracellular transport of nutrients,Phosphorus: requirements, uptake, deployment in phytoplankton,Nitrogen: requirements, sources, uptake and metabolism in phytoplankton, Lab.Water quality measurement of samples taken from the field
6 Nutrient uptake and assimilation in phytoplankton:The role of micronutrients, Major ions, Silicon: requirements, uptake, deployment in phytoplankton, Lab. Work up phytoplankton samples from field study for counting
7 Ara Sınav
8 Growth and replication of phytoplankton:The mechanics and control of growth, Growth of phytoplankton in natural environments, Lab. Identification of phytoplankton samples
9 Mortality and loss processes in phytoplankton: Washout and dilution, Sedimentation, Consumption of herbivores,Susceptibility to pathogens and parasites, Death and decomposition, Lab. Identification of phytoplankton
10 Community assembly in the plankton: pattern, process and dynamics, Pattern of species composition and temporal change, Lab. Quantification of phytoplankton
11 Presentations Lab. Phytocarbon measurement of dominant species
12 Phytoplankton ecology and aquatic ecosystems: mechanisms and management Lab. Phytocarbon measurement of dominant species
13 Student assignments Lab. The report of field study
14 Student assignments

Recomended or Required Reading

The Ecology of Phytoplankton, C. S. Reynolds, 2006.

Planned Learning Activities and Teaching Methods

Lectures will be held as presentations using by datashow.

Assessment Methods

SORTING NUMBER SHORT CODE LONG CODE FORMULA
1 PRJ PROJECT
2 MTE MIDTERM EXAM
3 FIN FINAL EXAM
4 FCG FINAL COURSE GRADE PRJ * 0.30 + MTE * 0.30 + FIN * 0.40
5 RST RESIT
6 FCGR FINAL COURSE GRADE (RESIT) PRJ * 0.30 + MTE * 0.30 + RST * 0.40


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

Further Notes About Assessment Methods

Midterm %30-Final%40
Sampling+Report+Presentation %30

Assessment Criteria

To be announced.

Language of Instruction

English

Course Policies and Rules

To be announced.

Contact Details for the Lecturer(s)

Dokuz Eylül Üniversitesi Deniz Bilimleri ve Teknolojisi Enstitüsü
Prof Dr Nihayet Bizsel nihayet.bizsel@deu.edu.tr

Office Hours

Ofice hours will be informed on the office door.

Work Placement(s)

None

Workload Calculation

Activities Number Time (hours) Total Work Load (hours)
Lectures 13 3 39
Field study 2 10 20
Preparing the laboratory notebook 2 20 40
Preparing assignments 1 10 10
Preparations before/after weekly lectures 11 4 44
Preparation for midterm exam 1 8 8
Preparing presentations 1 10 10
Preparation for final exam 1 12 12
Midterm 1 3 3
Final 1 5 5
TOTAL WORKLOAD (hours) 191

Contribution of Learning Outcomes to Programme Outcomes

PO/LOPO.1PO.2PO.3PO.4PO.5PO.6
LO.1555344
LO.2545355
LO.3535122
LO.4555155
LO.5454255
LO.6555344
LO.7555555
LO.8555555