3 ECTS credits
90 h study time

Offer 1 with catalog number 4018831FNR for all students in the 1st semester at a (F) Master - specialised level.

Semester
1st semester
Enrollment based on exam contract
Impossible
Grading method
Grading (scale from 0 to 20)
Can retake in second session
Yes
Taught in
English
Partnership Agreement
Under interuniversity agreement for degree program
Faculty
Faculty of Science and Bio-engineering Sciences
Department
Biology
External partners
Università degli Studi di Firenze
Educational team
Decaan WE (course titular)
Activities and contact hours

24 contact hours Lecture
4 contact hours Seminar, Exercises or Practicals
Course Content

1) Historical overview of invasion biology. 2) Terminology, concepts, theories and methods. 3) Means, vectors and pathways of introductions. 4) The impacts of invasive alien species. 5) Invasive alien species and ecosystem services. 6) Invasive alien species and human health. 7) Invasiveness and invasibility. 8) Relationships between invasive alien species and other drivers of change, including climate change. 9) The behaviour of invasive alien species. 10) Prevention, control and eradication. Case studies of management from different taxa. 11) Legislation. 12) Public perception of biological invasions Citizen science. 13) Risk assessment tools and predictive models. 14) Case studies from the tropical areas.

 

Additional info

Course material, text books and further reading:

Several text books are available for consultation at the Science Library. Reading of recent articles from scientific journals will complete learning.

 

Learning Outcomes

General competences

Course objectives:

Learn about biological invasions as major threats to biodiversity; understand modes, vectors and pathways of species introductions; analyze the ecological impacts of alien species and their effects on ecosystem services and human health; investigate the relationships between biological invaders and other drivers of change (degradation/destruction of habitats, climate change, etc.); discuss strategies and methods to prevent introductions and to control/eradicate invasive alien species.

Learning outcomes:

Knowledge of the threats to biodiversity and ecosystem services. Capacity of analyzing and discussing environmental problems from a scientific perspective.

 

Grading

The final grade is composed based on the following categories:
Other Exam determines 100% of the final mark.

Within the Other Exam category, the following assignments need to be completed:

  • Other Exam with a relative weight of 1 which comprises 100% of the final mark.

Additional info regarding evaluation

Learning will be evaluated through a final written exam and a colloquium. The capacity of critical personal study will be assessedthrough the journal club seminars and an individual presentation on a topic of the course.

 

Allowed unsatisfactory mark
The supplementary Teaching and Examination Regulations of your faculty stipulate whether an allowed unsatisfactory mark for this programme unit is permitted.

Academic context

This offer is part of the following study plans:
Master of Biology: AR Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degree in Tropical Biodiversity and Ecosystems, start at Brussels
Master of Biology: AR Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degree in Tropical Biodiversity and Ecosystems, start at Paris
Master of Biology: AR Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degree in Tropical Biodiversity and Ecosystems, start at Cayenne