Coastal Ecology and Functioning

Coastal areas are among the most diversified and productive ecosystems on earth and deliver a wide range of socioeconomic services to humans, but are yet highly vulnerable. Their functioning is governed by a set of ecological and biogeochemical processes that may be impaired by humans. This course will focus on marine soft-sediments, which provide the largest habitat on Earth planet and host most of marine productivity. We will see what are the ecological processes that control coastal ecosystem functioning and how organisms impact these processes. Students will conduct experiments and analyses to learn the methods used to study coastal ecosystems.