This course is intended as a beginner’s guide to marine ecological modelling. It is suitable for students across a broad range of academic backgrounds and does not assume a high level of prior mathematical knowledge or experience in coding.
The course will give you the knowledge to better understand the strengths and limitations of published models and the skills to develop your own.
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
Key Topics
Modelling concepts:
Ecological concepts:
Model environments:
Practicals
1.Core concepts will be modelled using intuitive graphical software
2.These concepts will be later applied in a global climate model
Lectures
Discussion sessions
Support can be provided for those students who have further or specific learning and teaching needs.
| Type | Hours |
|---|---|
| Independent Study | 96 |
| Teaching | 54 |
| Total study time | 150 |
Formal assessment will be through two written practical reports:
Project 1 (50%): You will construct a series of models of increasing complexity, examining their behaviour to identify key controls on the plankton ecosystem.
Project 2 (50%): You will use an existing model to examine the global response of the marine ecosystem to a projected climate scenario for the 21st century.
This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.
| Method | Percentage contribution |
|---|---|
| Project | 50% |
| Project | 50% |