Marine ecology & biodiversity - PSL Week
Master in Life Sciences, ENS
UNBIO1-046 (BIO-M1-S17) | Marine ecology & biodiversity
Year and Semester: M1/M2 | S1
Where: Biology department, ENS
Duration: 30 hours
First and last day of class: November 24 – November 28, 2025
Coordination
Mathilde SCHEIFLER, ENS
Credits
3 ECTS (or 2 ECTS for the students from the PSL week)
Keywords
Marine ecology | biodiversity | planktonic communities | biogeography | marine biogeochemistry
Course Prerequisites
This course is designed for advanced undergraduate and graduate students in biology or geosciences. Students from other disciplines are also welcome, provided they have some background in fundamental concepts of ecology or oceanography. Please note that students who have already taken courses in community ecology, ocean physics, and biogeochemistry at ENS may encounter some redundancies, particularly during the first two days of the course.
In case external students do not have prerequisites in biology or geosciences, they are expected to read one of the following books:
– In French: Barbault, R. (2008) Ecologie Générale. 6ème édition. Dunod, Paris.
– In English: Gotelli, N.J. (2008) A Primer Of Ecology. 4th edition. Sinauer Assoc.
Course objectives and description
Aims: The purpose of the course is to provide a thorough introduction to marine ecology, biogeochemistry and environmental physics and how they influence biodiversity and organism adaptations in the oceans.
Themes: Marine ecosystems consist of diverse communities shaped by the interplay between their physical and chemical environment, ocean currents, and their biological traits, including competition and dispersal abilities. During this week, we will introduce the fundamentals of community ecology, the structure and general organization of marine environments, and how they are currently threatened by anthropogenic activities. We will then explore key notions of ocean physics and biogeochemistry, as well as the question of ocean biodiversity and how organisms disperse and adapt in the marine environment. A focus will be made on marine top predators and the methods used to study them, such as tracking approaches and satellite imaging. Finally, we will explore the ‘invisible biosphere’ of marine microorganisms, with particular attention to diatoms and protists.
Organisation:
The course will be composed of 8 lectures (computers can be required for some sessions).
Assessment
The evaluation is based on a written exam on Friday afternoon.
For IMaLiS students, the evaluation consists in a short-answer exam and an essay (3 ECTS).
For students from the PSL week, the evaluation consists in a short-answer exam only (2 ECTS).
Course material
Suggested reading in relationship with the module content
• Brown JM (1995) Macroecology. Univ. of Chicago Press.
• Magurran AE, McGill BJ (2011) Biological Diversity. Oxford University Press.
• Miller CB, Wheeler PA (2012) Biological Oceanography. Wiley-Blackwell.
