Citizen science (CS) is a quickly evolving field, engaging millions of volunteers around the world in parts of the scientific process. New technologies have facilitated this rapid expansion by making CS programs attractive to a diverse set of participants and multiplying the ways in which researchers and citizen scientists interact together to address scientific questions. As many participants gather high volumes of data, CS can help researchers solve new problems or approach previous questions from a larger scale perspective. CS has already made important contributions to fields like ecology, conservation science, environmental protection, geographic information research, social sciences and epidemiology. In addition, CS simultaneously plays an important role in education and the public perception of science. This course will cover what citizen science is and the key components that form a CS program. Also, we will explore some of its current applications and weigh the investments needed to create a CS program. We will also compare different project categories, based on the activities that are carried out by the participants. During the course, students are going to get involved first-hand with local CS projects and exercise on planning reasonable new initiatives based on CS. Lastly, we will discuss some of the current promises of CS in terms of democratization, education and scientific discoveries, in the context of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). By the end, students will have a significant understanding of the potential and challenges of CS for achieving a sustainable future.
This course provides an opportunity for graduate students in the MSc Programme in Ecology to expand their breadth of knowledge and complexity of understanding and application of ecological principles. It is designed to provide the knowledge needed so students can focus on the more advanced experiences available to them in their future courses and research experiences concerning the concepts, current and future regional to international issues in the ecological sciences, and the application of ecological theory and methods to address these issues.
In this course we will become familiar with contemporary issues in the field of Ecology & Society. To provide context to our discussions, we begin with an analysis of key frameworks and principles including Social-Ecological Resilience, Environmental Justice and Community Based Research. Via contemporary case studies we put these frameworks and principles into practice. In this course we mainstream social justice to ensure that we understand how programs and policies affect countries and peoples differently
A quote by R.P. McIntosh (1980, Synthese, 43:195-255) describes the reasoning behind the approach used in this course: “If the models and theories which are presumably to provide the simplifying and explanatory framework for the indigestible mass of ecological observations are themselves unassimilable by the ecological corpus, ecology may have need of a purgative”. As such, that is the guiding purpose of this course design.
Community ecology is an integrative field of science that links together concepts in biodiversity science, biogeography, evolution and conservation to address one of the most fundamental questions asked in order to understand life on the planet, regardless if one is considering a forest, a lake, the ocean, animal bodies, etc.: “Why are there different types and numbers of species in different places?” This course will answer this question through developing an understanding of the concepts that determine the spatial and temporal dynamics of populations and the communities in which they are found. Students will study the structures and regulatory factors of population growth and regulation, species interactions, eco-evo dynamics, food webs, and patterns of diversity. However, rather than simply memorize the myriad of different models associated with these factors, that have been self-organized by different ecologists into separate subareas, students will study these structures and factors in an integrative manner that correlates all of them with the four fundamental processes in Community Ecology that cut across all subareas of ecology: Selection, Ecological Drift, Dispersal, and Speciation. The reasoning behind this approach is that all existing models of community ecology dynamics are based on these four fundamental processes, which were core to their development. This approach allows Community Ecology knowledge to be presented in a logical, integrated manner, based on a series of hypotheses and predictions associated with these four processes that is simpler to grasp, rather than providing students with a disjointed mix of seemingly independent theories and models. In addition to lecture and discussion concerning these components, students will also be exposed to mathematical and graphical analyses and investigations to develop a deeper understanding of Community Ecology and its’ applications to different areas of biology and ecology.
This course presents a review of multiple statistical methods for data analysis, ranging from the most fundamental concepts to modern analysis techniques. The course will be given with a practical and intuitive approach, which will be developed through the use of the R program (no previous experience is required). In addition, the course will seek to cultivate an appreciation for good practices in data visualization, as well as to foster students' critical analysis of different problems related to the manipulation and interpretation of statistical information.
This course presents a compilation of ecological
research methods, extending from classical methodologies to modern tools and techniques.
The course will emphasize a practical approach, which will be conducted in
different locations of the university campus, like the UPeace Recreational
Park. In addition, students will visit the Insect Museum to complement the
sampling methods component, and prepare presentations intended to strengthen
their associative skills and concept assimilation among the different
methodologies and their applications in ecological research.
Scientists around the world are developing and attempting to use indicator methods to characterize ecological differences between terrestrial habitats, to assess ecosystem conditions within these habitats, and to identify the impact that ecosystem restoration and other land management strategies may have on them. For such assessments to be effective, it is critical to identify metrics that can demonstrate important differences between habitats and have a chance to provide evidence of ecosystem damage and/or recovery. The assessment of ecosystem quality or condition through the analysis of vegetation (above-ground), avian (above-ground), invertebrate (above and below-ground), and microbial (below-ground) community structure, linked to forest physical characteristics, biomass, and the quantity and quality of soil carbon and nitrogen components represents an example of linked metrics that can provide key information about ecosystem condition and functionality after damage and how restoration practices may be involved in recovery. Yet few studies connect all these trophic levels together in habitat assessments, even though there is a recognized need to identify the linkages between above and below-ground diversity, and the relative roles of nutrient resource availability and specific habitat properties.
This course is a final “capstone”-type research experience for the students in the MSc Ecology and Society programme. It is a research-based course in which students will have a very rare opportunity to learn about and study both the above and below-ground aspects of tropical ecosystems, how these different components are studied, assess how a reforestation project is influencing the above and below-ground ecosystems’ functions and determine the efficacy of using this management practice for restoration of tropical forests. Students will conduct their own research project using the methods presented for a rapid assessment of the efficacy of different forest restoration practices on forest ecosystem recovery by comparing ecosystem function potential between an older standing forest (>50 years) and a newly planted forest (21 years). They will develop rapid assessment techniques to examine the relationships between structure, function, biotic diversity, and community structure of both below-ground (e.g. soil microbes) and above-ground forest components by collecting data (or using recently collected data) from both aged forests in Monteverde, Costa Rica. The data will be used to compare the carbon and nitrogen cycle in the soils, the functional attributes of the above-ground ecosystem, the biodiversity, and the structural components that provide the base of the ecosystem. Ecosystem services, or contributions, will be analyzed to determine the level of human benefits resulting from forest restoration. The results will be compiled and presented in a final analysis to show if the management practices were successful at recovering a tropical premontane wet forest after damage.