Global Change Ecology

The weekly arrangement for the course will be 2 h lectures and in-class problem solving + 1 h tutorials with short student presentations and literature discussions. Each week will cover a new topic or aspect of global change ecology. The main focus will be on how climate change effects ecological processes, in a wide range of different ecosystems, both terrestrial and aquatic. The effects of global change phenomena such as CO2 fertilization (e.g. effects on plant growth and interactions), N pollution (e.g. plant mineral nutrition, mycorrhizal interactions, soil nutrient availability), pollution of aquatic systems, ocean acidification, land use change (e.g. deforestation and habitat loss), and climate warming on ecological interactions both between different organisms and organisms and their environment. We end the course by looking at how multiple global change drivers can give a more realistic view of net ecosystem effects. Researchers methods for studying ecosystem effects of global change phenomena will be considered, as well as areas in need of further study. (Biodiversity loss and invasive species will not be covered in depth as they are major components of the course Current Issues in Ecology).