Admission requirements
The course is open for all students that are enrolled in the Minor Biodiversity.
Description
The course Environmental Processes has the following content:
This four-week module has a very strong theoretical and a smaller yet significant practical part. The theoretical part focuses on the ecological processes that impact on biodiversity and vice versa. As such it is strongly connected to the first course in this minor as it investigates the underlying patterns that were discussed during the Orientation course. The course is structured around three key environmental realms (i) the abiotic environment, (ii) the biotic environment (iii) and human impacts on the biotic and abiotic environment. Within these themes the focus will be on the interacting ecological and anthropological processes and mechanisms underlying the core functions of these ecosystems, and how human interactions with these processes results in an collection of environmental problems. The course discusses a relative broad spectrum of environmental processes including climate change, eutrophication, pollution and ecotoxicology, exotic species, disturbance and fragmentation and their respective impacts on biodiversity. The practical part consists of a GIS- assignment, which will be carried out in small groups and is integrated with the data collection during the field weeks in the first module of the Minor.
Course Objectives
After completion of the course, students are able to:
1. Explain the biodiversity theory, evolution, environmental patterns, scales in biodiversity and human/biodiversity relationships as discussed in the course;
2. Discuss and illustrate how evolutionary and environmental processes determine biodiversity both on a short (decades) and long term (millions of years) time frame and on local to global spatial scales;
3. Apply the biodiversity concepts and tools from 1 and 2 to solve a wide range of scientific and societal problems;
4. Write a problem-oriented report in which different scenarios and actions are discussed and evaluated to solve a pressing biodiversity issue.
Timetable
A detailed schedule will be provided on Brightspace before the start of the course.
In MyTimetable, you can find all course and programme schedules, allowing you to create your personal timetable. Activities for which you have enrolled via MyStudyMap will automatically appear in your timetable.
Additionally, you can easily link MyTimetable to a calendar app on your phone, and schedule changes will be automatically updated in your calendar. You can also choose to receive email notifications about schedule changes. You can enable notifications in Settings after logging in.
Questions? Watch the video, read the instructions, or contact the ISSC helpdesk.
Note: Joint Degree students from Leiden/Delft need to combine information from both the Leiden and Delft MyTimetables to see a complete schedule. This video explains how to do it.
Mode of instruction
Lectures, practicals, (GIS) and discussions
Assessment method
The two practical GIS assignments will together account for 45% of the final mark (10 and 35% respectively).
The exam grade will make up 65% of the final mark.
Minimum grade:
Courses require a minimum, unrounded 5.5 grade to complete.
If a course has 2 or more written partial exams, the minimum grade only applies to the weighted average of the exams.
For partial grades from components other than exams (e.g. practicals, seminars, writing assignments), the bottom grade does apply to the individual components.
Please refer to the Student Charter for an overview of regulations.
Reading list
For each part of the course we’ve developed a syllabus. Guest lectures will be recorded as much as possible.
For some topics extra reading material will be provided (scientific articles, newspaper articles etc).
Registration
As a student, you are responsible for enrolling on time through MyStudyMap.
In this short video, you can see step-by-step how to enrol for courses in MyStudyMap.
Extensive information about the operation of MyStudyMap can be found here.
There are two enrolment periods per year:
Enrolment for the fall opens in July
Enrolment for the spring opens in December
See this page for more information about deadlines and enrolling for courses and exams.
Note:
It is mandatory to enrol for all activities of a course that you are going to follow.
Your enrolment is only complete when you submit your course planning in the ‘Ready for enrolment’ tab by clicking ‘Send’.
Not being enrolled for an exam/resit means that you are not allowed to participate in the exam/resit.
Exchange and Study Abroad students, please see the Prospective students website for information on how to apply.
Contact
Course coordinator: Dr. Maarten Schrama
Email: m.j.j.schrama@cml.leidenuniv.nl
Remarks
Brightspace will be used for communication and exchange of documents
Software
Starting from the 2024/2025 academic year, the Faculty of Science will use the software distribution platform Academic Software. Through this platform, you can access the software needed for specific courses in your studies. For some software, your laptop must meet certain system requirements, which will be specified with the software. It is important to install the software before the start of the course. More information about the laptop requirements can be found on the student website.