Ecosystem Change in the Anthropocene

Faculteit—

NiveauBachelor

Studiejaar2026-2027

Beschrijving

Course goals

After completing this course students are able to evaluate by systems analysis, how ecosystems could respond to changing anthropogenic impacts (such as climate change).

Learning goals:

Quantify the impact of anthropogenic effects on the global C, N, and P biogeochemical cycles.
Analyse how biodiversity and interactions between species can affect ecosystem behaviour and how ecosystem engineers can change the expected behaviour of ecosystems.
Evaluate possible feedbacks within ecosystems by creating feedback diagrams, and explain how they can lead to catastrophic shifts (‘tipping points’).
Conduct a (computer) model study to answer a research question related to ecosystem behaviour.
Critically assess and debate research on ecosystem’s responses to climate change.
Interpret own model results and integrate it with scientific knowledge on ecosystem changes in the Anthropocene in a scientific report and poster.

Relationship between assessment and learning goals:

Summative assessment	Grading (%)	Tests learning goals
Model report 1	15%	1, 4, 6
Individual exam 1	25%	1, 2, 3, 5
Paper discussions	10%	1, 2, 3, 5
Model report 2	15%	2,4,6
Individual exam 2	25%	2, 3, 5
Poster presentation	10%	3, 6

Content

Note: Was previously code UCSCIEAR21. You cannot take both courses; they are the same.

The current world is increasingly influenced by human activities, so far that their imprint can be observed in the geologic record to indicate the start of the proposed new geologic epoch ‘the Anthropocene’. In a world heavily influenced by human activities, one of the most important questions is how to manage our natural resources in a sustainable manner. Answering this question requires knowledge on the functioning of ecosystems and their responses to perturbations and change dependent and independent of human activities. This course addresses several aspects that characterize ecosystem functioning and allows students to develop analytical skills needed to analyse and predict ecosystem responses to perturbations and change.

In the first part of the course, students will become familiar with energy flows and biogeochemical cycling in ecosystems. Students analyse the carbon cycle at a global scale, and assess the effects of major disturbances caused by fossil fuels. Furthermore, students analyse the consequences of nutrient enrichment of natural ecosystems and which sustainable management practices are required to maintain ecosystem functions.

The second part of the course addresses population dynamics and the response of ecosystems to global change drivers. Students analyse the effects of species characteristics and species-species interactions on ecosystem functioning. Furthermore, students become familiar with the different ways how ecosystem can respond to change, such as catastrophic shifts, by developing and analyzing mathematical models.

Throughout the course, students are challenged to apply their knowledge of ecosystem processes to devise sustainable management strategies and discuss the interactions between nature and society from an (integrated) systems perspective.

Format

Content is taught through interactive lectures, followed by group discussions/debates (focused on theory and literature) and computer labs (focused on the development and analysis of mathematical models). Students are asked to summarize their findings from the discussions and assignments in the form of graded reports. Knowledge on the content taught during the lectures and in the assigned readings is tested in an exam. After the exam, students are asked to apply the knowledge gained in the course by studying an ecosystem that is perturbed by a global change driver and by the development of a mathematical ecosystem model. Results are presented in an interactive poster session.

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