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Biodiversity of freshwaters
Biodiversität der natürlichen Gewässer
Last Updated: 2026-02-05 15:09:27
Abstract
We give an overview of aquatic biodiversity at different levels of biological organization and introduce the conceptual ecological and evolutionary background that is necessary to understand the processes that shape aquatic biodiversity. We also introduce the basic conservation biology issues that relate to aquatic biodiversity.
Objective
• Understand the different concepts under the general title of “biodiversity” • Understand the causes and consequences of biodiversity crisis in aquatic ecosystems • Understand the ecological and evolutionary processes that promote and erode biodiversity • Understand the local and global scale ecological processes that are relevant in determining aquatic biodiversity • Understand the key research questions in biodiversity research • Understand the biological and political implications of biodiversity related conservation goals
Content
Aquatic biodiversity is globally endangered. Purpose of this lecture is to give an overview of existing aquatic biodiversity, illustrate which processes have contributed to present aquatic biodiversity and discuss which special features of aquatic ecosystems make them special for biodiversity research and conservation biology. The approach we take is to describe the large scale processes that effect biodiversity (e.g. landscape and geographic processes) and discuss the ecological and evolutionary consequences of these processes (ecosystem function, community structure, speciation and race formation). We also view the ecological and evolutionary processes that promote emergence and maintenance of biodiversity in aquatic habitats. We introduce the classical biodiversity research paradigms and discuss how they are used in conservation biology.
General Information
- Language
- German
- Frequency
- Yearly recurring
Examination
- Type
- session examination
- Mode
- oral 30 minutes
Course Components
| Type | Title | Time & Place | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| lecture | Biodiversität der natürlichen Gewässer |
|
2 h weekly |