Coastal and Marine Ecology Course
Tomorrow, a course in Coastal and Marine Ecology begins at the University Centre of the Westfjords.
Understanding the relationships between organisms and their environment is essential for the effective utilization and management of natural resources. The course will examine the fundamental ecological principles of both population and community ecology and aim to place ecological knowledge in the broader context of the many global environmental challenges we face today. Particular emphasis is placed on temperate and polar ecosystems, including (field) observations of marine and coastal life in the Icelandic ecosystem.
Discussion sessions and writing assignments will be used to deepen students’ understanding and application of selected theoretical and practical concepts and approaches, as well as to train students in reading and writing scientific papers.
The course objectives include that students will be able to list and define common ecological research methods and identify typical applications, strengths, and limitations of different approaches; be familiar with current research that draws on knowledge of human impacts on marine ecosystems; and be able to evaluate and compare mitigation measures in response to human pressures on marine systems.
The course instructer is Dr. Filipa Samarra. She is a behavioural ecologist with a keen interest in marine mammal social and foraging ecology and acoustic communication. Her research focuses on intra-specific ecological and behavioural variation, interspecific interactions and the effects of environmental changes. Much of this work is done with killer whales, the apex predator of the oceans, as part of the longest running monitoring and research programme on killer whales in Iceland, the Icelandic Orca Project.
All master's courses taught at the University Centre of the Westfjords are open to participants from both universities and the business community. If you are interested in attending a single course at the University Centre, you can familiarize yourself with our course catalog and submit an application for a single course.