Universität Wien

300380 UE Trophic ecology of aquatic ecosystems (2024W)

5.00 ECTS (3.00 SWS), SPL 30 - Biologie
Continuous assessment of course work
Moodle

Registration/Deregistration

Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).

Details

max. 10 participants
Language: English

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N


02.10. 2024 Prelaminary talk/Introduction (Vorbesprechung) Seminar room SR 1.8 at 11:30-13:00.

The course will take place at the WasserCluster in Lunz (http://www.wasserkluster-lunz.ac.at/) from October 21 to October 25.

  • Wednesday 02.10. 11:30 - 13:00 Seminarraum 1.8, Biologie Djerassiplatz 1, 1.007, Ebene 1 (Kickoff Class)

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

We will investigate the functioning of a lake ecosystem based on dietary organic matter and energy pathways, from primary producers to consumers of different trophic levels. In detail, we will analyze origin, dietary quality and energy content of potential food sources of different fish species obtained from the lake. We will investigate feeding ecology of fishes, patterns of food selectivity and their relevance for consumption and production, as well as the consequences on the food webs (i.e. bottom up vs. top down effects, trophic cascades, etc.). We will focus on different fish species, macro-zoobenthos, zooplankton and algae.
Methods: Qualitative and quantitative stomach and gut analyses of fishes, stable isotopes, C/N element analyses, lipids and fatty acid analyses, compound-specific stable isotopes, multivariate analysis, mixing models.

Assessment and permitted materials

seminar talk (20 %), Student activity (30 %), lab protocol (10 %), team report (40 %)

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

All partial performances must be positive to finish the course. Passed with more than 50% positive overall performance.

Examination topics

Continuous assessment. You will learn how to plan and to conduct a field survey based on an empirical approach, you will conduct commonly used statistical procedures to analyze obtained data, which represents a prerequisite for the interpretation of the results. At the end of the course, you will discuss the results by means of a short presentation. In the more detailed written protocol you will include the research topic, applied methods, findings and your interpretations.

Reading list

Brooks, J. L., & Dodson, S. I. (1965). Predation, Body Size, and Composition of Plankton: The effect of a marine planktivore on lake plankton illustrates theory of size, competition, and predation. science, 150(3692), 28-35.

da Silveira, E. L., Semmar, N., Cartes, J. E., Tuset, V. M., Lombarte, A., Ballester, E. L. C., & Vaz-dos-Santos, A. M. (2020). Methods for trophic ecology assessment in fishes: a critical review of stomach analyses. Reviews in Fisheries Science & Aquaculture, 28(1), 71-106.

Gerking, S. D. (2014). Feeding ecology of fish. Elsevier.

Power, M. E. (1990). Effects of fish in river food webs. Science, 250(4982), 811-814.

Wang, S., Tang, J. P., Su, L. H., Fan, J. J., Chang, H. Y., Wang, T. T., ... & Yang, Y. (2019). Fish feeding groups, food selectivity, and diet shifts associated with environmental factors and prey availability along a large subtropical river, China. Aquatic Sciences, 81, 1-18.

Association in the course directory

MEC-9, M-WZB, MNB6

Last modified: Tu 01.10.2024 15:47