Code: BIOL-428
Semester: G
Course Type: Elective
ECTS units: 5
Instructor
Professor: Anastasios Tselepidis
Email:
Office phone number: +30 2810 394090
Description
Objectives of the course (preferably expressed in terms of learning outcomes and competences): The course provides the necessary information regarding the functioning and structure of deep-sea ecosystems. The learning goal is to teach students the main features and specificities of deep-sea ecosystems, and to come up with sustainable propositions regarding the protection and conservation of this vast marine environment.
Course contents: The main goal of this course is to study the ecology of the marine environment by focusing on the structure, function and biodiversity of marine ecosystems. In recent years it has become apparent that the oceans are major food sources, climate and CO2 regulators, as well as oxygen and mineral suppliers. Emphasis is given in analyzing the relevant ecological processes and adaptations that structure and preserve biological communities and the services they provide. Within this framework the course takes into account the environmental conditions prevailing in continental shelf, continental slope, bathyal and abyssal environments.
Thematic Areas
1. History of deep-sea explorations
2. Basic oceanographic and ecological principles pertinent to the deep-sea
3. Description of habitats from continental slopes to hydrothermal vents and abyssal plains
4. Diversity of deep-sea life
5. The deep Mediterranean. Structure and function
6. The ecology of deep-sea polar regions, tropical seas and coral communities
7. Ecological impacts of anthropogenic disturbances in the deep-sea
8. Conservation and preservation of deep-sea ecosystems
