Aquatic ecosystems

Summary

Inland waters are now being recognized are major players of global biogeochemical cycles. They also provide essential ecosystem services such as fresh water and fish, and link continental processes with atmospheric and marine processes. The understanding of the structure and function of inland water

Content

Keywords

Inland waters, streams, rivers, lakes, wetlands, groundwater, ecosystem ecology, biogeochemistry

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course, the student must be able to:

• Argue why inland waters matter for global societal and environmental issues
• Assess / Evaluate the basic hydrodynamics and hydraulics for ecosystem processes in inland waters
• Analyze the link between biogeochemical processes in inland waters and the coastal ocean
• Derive an understanding of aquatic ecosystem functions from biodiversity patterns
• Describe key mechanisms of metacommunity ecology
• Assess / Evaluate ecosystem metabolism in inland waters

Teaching methods

Power point presentations

Expected student activities

Interactions and discussions with teachers

Feedback and respond to questions

Feedback in an appropriate manner on the content and its presentation

Assessment methods

Final written exam (100%)

Supervision

Resources

Moodle Link

• https://go.epfl.ch/ENV-321