701-4000-00L Summer School on Blue-Green Biodiversity
| Semester | Spring Semester 2024 |
| Lecturers | C. Graham, A. L. Bergamini, K. Bollmann, S. Fink, A. Narwani |
| Periodicity | non-recurring course |
| Language of instruction | English |
Courses
| Number | Title | Hours | Lecturers | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 701-4000-00 G | Summer School on Blue-Green Biodiversity Summer School takes place in Davos from 26-31 August 2024. | 44s hrs | C. Graham, A. L. Bergamini, K. Bollmann, S. Fink, A. Narwani |
Catalogue data
| Abstract | This summer school highlights how an integrated approach that considers the ecological, evolutionary, and social dimensions of freshwater (blue) and terrestrial (green) ecosystems benefits the maintenance and restoration of biodiversity. It is aimed primarily for PhD students to bring themselves up to date with the latest research and to reflect on their own work with an interdisciplinary lens. |
| Learning objective | Students will be able to: • describe and discuss the linkages between aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems and the interdependencies between social and ecological systems. • analyze the current and future blue and green ecosystems from a scientific, nature conservation, management, and socioeconomic perspective. • assess their own scientific work with respect to other disciplinary methods and the benefits of interdisciplinary approaches in their field. |
| Content | The course will cover a diverse set of topics, from the ecology and evolution of blue-green ecosystems to ecosystem services and governance. It will combine lectures, field excursions and group work to present and discuss state-of-the-art knowledge and practices. The content of the summer school will be based around these questions: •How do evolutionary and ecological processes differ in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems? • What are the characteristics of species interactions and ecosystem processes, such as carbon recycling or toxin production, across aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems? • How will blue-green ecosystems and their biodiversity respond to climate change and other anthropogenic drivers? How will the differences in ecological processes lead to divergent responses to human impacts across ecosystems? •How should conservation strategies and urban development be aligned to best preserve both aquatic and terrestrial biodiversity in Switzerland? •How should socio-ecological interdependencies and existing knowledge and attitudes of stakeholders and the public be considered to optimize the outcome of ecological restorations? •How can an evidence-based understanding of biodiversity be used to improve policy and decision making? |
| Literature | Course materials (e.g. scientific papers, news articles, videos) are provided for preparatory reading and during the course. |
| Prerequisites / Notice | The Summer School is co-organized by the WSL Biodiversity Center and the Blue-Green Research Initiative (Eawag and WSL). It accommodates ca. 20 highly motivated students. It is open to PhD students enrolled at ETH and other universities in Switzerland and abroad. Applications will be evaluated according to their fitting to the summer school topic, the applicants’ interdisciplinary interest, their evidence of academic quality, and their expected benefits from this summer school. Fee: 700 Swiss Francs (exclusive of VAT). This includes accommodation (shared rooms) at the Hotel Shima (https://www.shima-davos.ch/) and meals, course materials and excursions. Accepted participants are expected to bear travel costs to Davos. |
Performance assessment
| Performance assessment information (valid until the course unit is held again) | |
Performance assessment as a semester course | |
| ECTS credits | 2 credits |
| Examiners | C. Graham, A. L. Bergamini, K. Bollmann, S. Fink, A. Narwani |
| Type | ungraded semester performance |
| Language of examination | English |
| Repetition | Repetition only possible after re-enrolling for the course unit. |
| Additional information on mode of examination | This course is only offered once, the performance assessment cannot be repeated. |
Learning materials
| No public learning materials available. | |
| Only public learning materials are listed. |
Groups
| No information on groups available. |
Restrictions
| There are no additional restrictions for the registration. |
