A great challenge for freshwater ecology in the 21st century is the restoration of degraded ecosystems while preserving those systems that still remain in good condition.

This EFMA course aims to develop students as professional freshwater ecologists.

Students will advance their knowledge of current issues and approaches in freshwater ecology, particularly the concepts that underpin understanding of freshwater ecosystems and the application of research to management. Has a focus on the skills needed by professionals working in freshwater-related areas of research, consultancy and management. This course provides a thorough grounding in the ecology of streams and rivers, but also introduces other freshwater ecosystems such as lakes and wetlands. It covers the most important concepts that underpin our understanding of these ecosystems (with some emphasis on practical applications for solving current problems) whilst focusing especially on understanding how biodiversity affects functioning of ecosystems.

Theoretical part is complemented by practical skills in association with quantitative state-of-the-environment monitoring and team-based project work. Guided lab sessions prior to the trip will develop basic physical and biological (not chemical – seen in Mesures et analyse physico-chimiques) sampling procedures, as well as vertebrate and macroinvertebrate identification (macro- and microphytes are studied at M2 level). Field trip aims at carrying out both biological assessment and hydromorphological assessment of rivers, and serve as support for the assessment in the field trip long report. By combining this practical expertise with detailed knowledge of how freshwater ecosystems work and the main approaches to managing them, students will be well placed for a diverse range of careers connected to freshwater ecosystems and the resources they provide.

Students in this course will develop the ability to:

·         Acquire an in-depth appreciation of important concepts in freshwater ecology and their application to management of freshwater ecosystems locally, nationally and internationally (assessment in the on-line quizz)

·         Evaluate the processes that control the structure and functioning of freshwater ecosystems at a variety of scales ranging from individuals to ecosystems and landscapes, and including the role(s) of abiotic factors and processes (assessment in the final test)

·         Develop practical skills including species identification, experimental design, data analysis (assessment in the field trip long report)  

·         Critique and develop research and biomonitoring methodologies used by freshwater ecologists (assessment in the field trip long report)

·         Be a professional freshwater ecologist including knowledge of the roles of scientists, consultants, managers, and stakeholders groups (assessment in the on-line quizz)

·         Conduct field work safely (field trip preparation and conducting field work for the field trip long report)

Basics at Licence levels (L1, L2, L3) in ecology and biology and statistics are mandatory. R programming is required (see important notice below).

Session 1 : 100% contrôle continu écrit

Session 2 : 100% oral

Important notice:

-       Field trips are compulsory as they are a major in-term assessment. To attend the field course students need to be capable of safely carrying out physical activities in the outdoors including walking in riverbeds and steep slopes. 

-       Pre-requisites are courses which must be completed prior to enrollment in the subsequent course to ensure adequate preparation. Basics at Licence levels (L1, L2, L3) in ecology and biology and statistics are mandatory. 

-       These days R Programming language is used to many purposes as it has extensive and powerful graphics abilities, that are tightly linked with its analytic abilities. The R system is developing so rapidly that new features and abilities appear every days. So, most important pre-requisites are: i/ solid understanding of statistics in mathematics, ii/ good understanding of various type of graphs for data representation and iii/ prior knowledge of any programming.