潮間帶生態學
Intertidal ecology
Dr Benny K.K. Chan
Research Centre for Biodiversity
Academia Sinica
Aims:
This course will be conducted in English, teaching the basic intertidal ecology and use this system as examples to introduce the basic concepts in population and community ecology, common research methods, statistical techniques and writing skills in ecological studies.

Learning outcomes:
At the end of this course you should be able to:
1. describe the physical environmental factors (e.g., waves, tides) shaping the intertidal environment
2. understand the basic factors affecting the distribution and abundance of intertidal organisms
3. understand the factors limiting species distribution patterns on the vertical intertidal gradient and study the methods to measure and investigate these patterns
4. design experimental studies to investigate patterns (e.g., zonation) and processes (e.g. competition) in intertidal areas
5. plan a simple experimental and statistical study on intertidal ecology.
6. review and critique scientific papers
Reference books:
Raffaelli, D and Hawkins S (1996) Intertidal Ecology. Chapman and Hall
Collin L (2000) The Biology of Soft Shores and Estuaries. Oxford University Press
Collin L and Kitching JA (1996) The Biology of Rocky Shores. Oxford University Press
Hogarth PJ (1999) The Biology of Mangroves. Oxford University Press

Contents:
1. General introduction to ecological patterns and processes
2. Tides
3. Waves
4. S.E. Asia coastal environment
5. Rocky shores
6. Rock pools – special communities
7. Sandy shores and mangroves
8. Factors affecting vertical and horizontal distribution of intertidal organisms
9. Predator and prey relationships on coastal ecology
10. Basic statistics in marine ecology research
11. Community stability, disturbance and succession of coastal organisms
12. Skills in writing and reading marine biology paper 1
13. Skills in writing and reading marine biology paper 2
14. Discussion 1
15. Discussion 2
16. Student presentation
Examination:
Students will be given a scientific paper to read and will require presenting an oral presentation to explain with reasons, whether the paper given is a good scientific paper and suggest any areas in the paper for further improvements.