Course Syllabus

  

Course Description

Demographic trends reveal that the proportion of people living in cities is increasing worldwide. The urban environment, the habitat on Earth with the densest population of humans, has catalyzed ecological and evolutionary changes in recent times. Explore which physical and biological factors drive the ecology of urban areas. Journey through the city landscape and examine the effect of human impact and a highly fragmented habitat for most of these organisms.

Copenhagen is in many ways a city not like other cities. One of the special features is the recreative use of the many parks and the harbor with a range of sustainable initiatives. Also, a deliberate policy aiming for clean sea water has resulted in a change of biota. In this course we will explore the many green and blue spaces in Copenhagen. We will examine both conceptual underpinnings and the application of theory to practice to improve human welfare and environmental quality and do several case studies on-site.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this course, students should have a firm understanding of the concepts.

The interaction between humans and the urban environment, especially the interplay between humans, biological systems, and the abiotic environment.
The concept of the urban ecosystem
Principles of landscape ecology in an urban context, especially fragmentation and island biogeography
Evolutionary adaptation of humans and other organisms in an urban environment
Climate change and urbanizations

 

Faculty

Jannik Hansen

M.Sc. (Wader/shorebird breeding ecology and behavioural ecology), Dept. of Animal Behaviour, Copenhagen University, 2001. Scientific officer at Arctic Ecosystem Ecology, Department of Ecoscience, Aarhus University (2004-2021), incl. monitoring field work at Zackenberg Research Station, Northeast Greenland (2005-2021), but also some oceanographic work. Project officer (2014- ) for and board member (2007- ) of the International Wader Study Group. Has worked with terrestrial animals, primarily shorebirds, in the field in, Denmark, Sweden, Northeast Greenland, central Norway, and Svalbard. Have lived in Copenhagen for 25 years, and in Greater Copenhagen for 51 years. Nature and the city have been in his focus since his teens, having volunteered for years in the conservation group of the local chapter of Danish Ornithological Society. Jannik has been with DIS since 2021.

Readings

Readings on this course varies from text books and reports to newspaper articles, video clips and scientific papers.

All readings will be available through links on Canvas, so you do not need to pick up a book at the library for this course.

McDonald et al. 2023 Denser and greener cities: Green interventions to achieve both urban density and nature. People and Nature 5: 84-102.

City of Copenhagen/Danish Ministry of Environment. N.D. The Port of Copenhagen – from a heavily polluted industrial port to a clean and thriving aquatic environment. https://kortlink.dk/yumpu/2sx5x

Turner et al. 2004. Global urbanization and the separation of humans from nature. Bioscience, 54, 585-590

Andersen et al. 2011. The end of urbanization? Towards a new urban concept or rethinking urbanization. European Planning Studies 19, 595-611

McKinney, M. L. 2006. Urbanization as a major cause of biotic homogenization. Biological conservation 127: 247-260

Beasley, Dickson 2023. Gull-human interactions in an urban population of Herring Gulls Larus argentatus and Lesser Black-backed Gulls Larus fuscus. Bird Study, 70: 55–58

Copenhagen Municipality. 2015. Urban Nature in Copenhagen - Strategy 2015–2025. City of Copenhagen, Technical and Environmental Administration. https://kortlink.dk/itera/2sx5w

 

Field Studies

We will use field studies to see urban ecology in real time. We will do our own data collection, we will visit site of interest for the course. These field studies are meant to give you a hands-on idea of how the city and ecology influence each other, which value the city nature gives the population and which challenges and limitation an urban environment have on animals and plants.

Guest Lecturers

This course will include  lectures and/or  field trips  by/with invited speakers and guides. In these instances, don't be shy. Use this opportunity to help them help you to a better understanding.

Approach to Teaching

The classes will involve lectures, class discussion, group work, field studies and student projects. Furthermore, there will often be questions presented for you to consider, discuss, and present in small groups.

The lectures will be taught in the order written in the syllabus, unless you are told differently. The order of the lectures is to ensure that you know all of the basic concepts before we go on study tour and field trips that relate to your final projects.

 

Expectations of the Students

All students are expected to have completed the course readings before class, so we can discuss the material at the right level. It is important to be well prepared for class because I may randomly select students to give key points on the readings for that day.

Students are expected to participate actively in all classes and field studies and be open minded to your fellow student’s contribution to class. The aim is to establish an environment where we can learn from each other as well as from the texts and cases we engage with and you are expected to actively support this approach. 

 

Evaluation

Students will be evaluated on their ability to understand, discuss and communicate scientific concepts within Arctic Ecology as well as interpret them meaningfully. These skills will be the primary focuses in evaluations. Group work in class and in the field as well as the student's ability to contribute to a group effort will be taken into account for the grade.

Grading

To be eligible for a passing grade in this class you must complete all of the assigned work. The overall grade will come from the following: Please watch the Assignment video guide here for help.

Assignment	Percent
Participation Students are expected to participate in all classes and field studies. Furthermore, active participation in class is required in order to get a good grade for participation. Examples of active student participation: Sum up key points from last class (2-3 min), ask questions about readings, lectures etc., start and/or participate in class discussions relating to the subjects treated.	20%
Field journal Observation-based field assignment identifying and describing key species within flora and fauna, nature types, but also opinions and facts from guest lecturers and guides and also your reflections on what we learned on each field study.	20%
Field assignments. Small summaries to be submitted after field work	15%
Digital Storytelling. Short video completed individually or in groups of 2-3 on self-elected highlights from the course.	10%
Final paper and Presentation. Work initiated on our study tour and finalized at the end of the course with an oral presentation.  Required elements of each project is that students familiarize themselves with the research topic they have worked with (through field observations and literature research) and give a thorough presentation, analysis and discussion. A presentation will be given at our "mini conference" at the end of the course.	35%

 

Additional comments

Policy on late papers. There shouldn't be any. Life happens though, so should it happen, contact Jannik and they will be accepted, but grades could be affected.

Use of laptops, tablets or phones in class is discouraged in most classroom parts of this course, unless your accommodations say otherwise. For field work, all students must have note taking equipment; in non-digital form. Notebook and pencil. On day 1 of the class, you will get tips on where to get it without being fleeced.

Field work/studies Weather in Denmark changes, and it will change during your stay too! So be aware that we will do field studies irrespective of weather! Rain won't stop us, cold won't stop us, wind won't stop us, heat won't stop us. Unless there is an official warning out from the authorities, we work. This means that you might need to acquire waterproof gear. One day 1 we'll talk about it, what to get, what not to get, and tips on how and where.

But trust me, field trips are great, even in the rain!