BB829: Aquatic Geomicrobiology (10 ECTS)

STADS: 04008601

Level
Master's level course

Teaching period
The course is offered in the spring semester.
3rd. and 4th. quater

Teacher responsible
Email: dec@biology.sdu.dk

Additional teachers
khabicht@biology.sdu.dk
bot@bmb.sdu.dk
loretodb@biology.sdu.dk
sacrowe@biology.sdu.dk
verona@biology.sdu.dk

Timetable
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Comment:
AFLYST F2010

Prerequisites:
None

Academic preconditions:
Finished bachelor degree in biology, chemistry, or geology.

Course introduction


Qualifications
This course will provide an in-depth understanding of the role of microorganisms in the cycling of elements in aquatic environments and will introduce the methods needed to quantify this role as well as the methods to evaluate diversity of microbes in natural environments.

Expected learning outcome
At the end of the course the students should be able to:
• Describe the most used microbial phylogenetic classification scheme and explain the evolutionary relationship of each major group to one another
• Explain how gene transfer influences the phylogeny of microbes in nature.
• Discuss the methods used to determine microbial diversity and explain the various factors influencing diversity
• Discuss how energy limited of life on the Earth before oxygen and how oxygen has influenced the history of life.
• Explain the anaerobic carbon food chain.
• Discuss the biogeochemical cycles of oxygen, carbon, nitrogen, sulfur, Fe and Mn
• Describe how microorganisms both exploit and create chemical gradients enabling them to grow.
• Apply basic diffusion models to quantifying rates of oxygen utilization in natural systems.
• Explain the methods used to quantify the major organic carbon respiration processes.
• Discuss the principles behind microbial batteries.
• Discuss the fractionation of sulfur, carbon and nitrogen in nature and apply these fractionations to unraveling the importance of different microbial processes in natural environments.

Subject overview
a) Microbial evolution, systematics and phylogeny.
b) microbial diversity.
c) techniques in molecular microbial ecology.
d) growth of microbial populations.
e) the role of microbes in controlling the cycling of bioactive elements including oxygen, carbon, iron, sulfur, manganese and nitrogen.
f) modelling of microbial processes.
g) life before oxygen, the earliest life on Earth.

Literature

• Canfield, D., Kristensen, E. and Thamdrup, B: Aquatic Geomicrobiology, Academic Press, 2005.

Website
This course uses e-learn (blackboard).

Prerequisites for participating in the exam
None

Assessment and marking:
a) Lab. work. Pass/fail and internal evaluation by teacher
b) Written exam. Danish 7 mark scale and external examiner

Reexam after 4th. quater

Expected working hours
The teaching method is based on three phase model.

Forelæsninger: 28 timer
Laboratorieøvelser: 70 timer
Educational activities

Language
This course is taught in English.

Course enrollment
See deadline of enrolment.

Tuition fees for single courses
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