Marine biology and ecology course [SBIOB208]

3 credits
20h+40h
2^nd quarter
Language of instruction: French / Français
Teachers: Dennis Alice, Silvestre Frédéric

Learning outcomes

The student will be able to recognise the main groups of organisms present on the North Atlantic foreshore, as well as the main tidal level markers. They will be able to make links between the level at which the organism is found on the foreshore and its physiology. They will have learned to find organisms in their natural environment, to recognize them and to observe them in situ. The student will be able to recognise the major groups of seabirds. They will be able to discuss conservation issues. They will learn to keep a field notebook. Finally, he/she will be able to work in a group and eventually write a group report.

Objectives

The general objective of this course is to familiarise students with the fauna and flora of a coastal region. Several topics will be covered during the course: 1) The biology of organisms on the foreshore; 2) An introduction to ornithology; 3) An introduction to phycology; 4) The societal impact of a research station and an environmental management station. In addition, students are required to complete a group assignment that requires good management of time and the biological and literary resources available to them. The Animal Diversity and Evolution course in Block 1 (SBIOB126) is a mandatory prerequisite for participation in this course.

Content

This course is divided into two phases. The first phase will consist of 3 sessions of 2 hours of practical work in the laboratory (TP B22, UNamur). During these sessions, the necessary information for the good preparation of the internship will be provided. In addition, the students are familiarised with the appropriate tools for field ecology by broadly addressing the few important notions that we will have the opportunity to deepen during the course. These exercises will be based on a PowerPoint presentation and will include organism determinations, carried out in groups of 4 to 5 students. The second phase will consist of a week's field training on the Armor coast in Brittany. The organisation of the week will be based on the rhythm of the tides. At ebb tide, the observation and collection of samples will allow the precise identification of the species as well as their location in their biotope. Back in the laboratory, experiments will complete this information by highlighting certain physiological characteristics (reaction to light, to osmotic modifications... modes of locomotion... functioning of filtration organs...). In addition to these In addition, there will be a visit to the LPO (League for the Protection of Birds) and a boat tour of the 7 islands nature reserve, which will introduce us to marine ornithology and conservation biology, a visit to the Roscoff Biological Station research centre and finally a study of the Slikke and Schorre: special biotopes of salt meadows located between land and sea. Compulsory practical sessions (3x2h): Animal biology practical room TPB22 UNamur Internship : Côtes-d'Armor, Bretagne France. Accommodation and lab: le Bailly centre (Île Grande) The dates of the course are not chosen at random. They depend solely on the tidal cycle. The course necessarily requires to leave during the periods of strong tides which from year to year fall at the end of March or beginning of April. This week is determined during September-October.

Prerequisites

Diversité et évolution animale [SBIOB126]

Teaching methods

During the practical sessions at the UNamur: the students form working groups which they will keep for the 3 sessions. After having received the theoretical reminders and the basic elements, naturalized organisms are distributed to them. They are first asked to describe the organisms (shape, colour, size, number of appendages, etc.). We then provide them with a series of guides that they can use to determine the organisms on the basis of their observations. With the help of the literature at their disposal, they have to compile a short description that they give back to the supervisors in the form of a comparative table. During the field course: on the foreshore, the students collect organisms illustrating most of the phyla of living organisms. Supervised by the assistants, they learn how to harvest while minimising their footprint on the biotope studied. After harvesting, the organisms are placed in temporary aquariums assigned by the students to the different groups of living beings, in a lab set up by the team. Thus, they will have the opportunity to observe them alive (morphology, behaviour, physiology, ...) in detail during the whole week. The LPO visit is supervised by a member of the association specialised in the protection of avifauna and marine habitats. We start the day with a visit to the 7 Islands nature reserve, a place rich in marine avifauna, where we have the opportunity to observe the southernmost breeding site of gannets in Europe. We end the day with a presentation and a question and answer session on the importance, difficulties and challenges of managing a nature reserve and raising awareness of conservation biology. The visit to the Roscoff Biological Station is led by the technician responsible for the station's aquariums. He takes us behind the scenes of the station and shows us the marine fauna in aquariums, explaining the studies carried out at the research centre, their importance and the issues at stake. The introduction to slikke and schorre is presented in the form of a lecture directly in the salt meadows. It is supervised by Philippe Martin, who is responsible for the herbarium of the University of Namur.

Evaluations

The assessment is multi-level and can be modified from year to year depending on the number of students participating and the visits made. Animal and plant identification skills are assessed in the laboratory using professional identification keys. An individual assessment also takes place in the field on the last afternoon of the course and consists of recognising and explaining the organisms observed. Proactivity and compliance with instructions during each activity are also taken into account. In case of failure, there is no second session organised (continuous assessment during the course).

Language of instruction

French / Français

Location for course

NAMUR

Organizer

Faculté des sciences
Rue de Bruxelles, 61
5000 NAMUR

Degree of Reference

Undergraduate Degree

	Block	Credits
Bachelier en sciences biologiques	2	3