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所在平台: Coursera |
课程主页: https://www.coursera.org/learn/ecology-conservation
课程评论：没有评论
课程名称：生态学：生态系统动态与保护 课程概述：本课程通过系统思维的视角，介绍生态学和生态系统动态。学习者将通过有关莫桑比克戈龙戈萨国家公园的案例研究，探索科学家如何研究生态系统，并调查影响管理努力的一系列复杂因素。课程结束时，学习者将能够处理实际的保护问题，例如生态系统是否能够从人为干扰中恢复，以及人类在这一恢复过程中可以和应该扮演什么角色。 课程大纲： 1. **生态系统能否恢复？** 本单元从莫桑比克的戈龙戈萨国家公园开始，提问“该生态系统在经历15年的内战后能否恢复？”学习者需要考虑所需的知识——该生态系统的组成部分是什么，它们如何相互作用？生态系统如何应对干扰？我们如何得知这些信息？我们将开始探讨生态系统作为一个动态整体，而非单纯的组成部分集合，并考虑各种变化如何影响系统。 2. **我们如何研究种群？** 本周，重点关注生态系统中的种群。生态系统中的谁或什么组成，扮演了怎样的角色？这些角色如何随时间变化？当一个物种从系统中移除时会发生什么？科学家如何研究生态系统中的不同种群？你将探讨不同物种的关键角色，如生态工程师、关键物种和指示物种，以及它们如何塑造各自的生态系统。 3. **物种如何共存？** 本周关注社区生态学，进一步探索生态系统中物种之间的相互作用。例如，戈龙戈萨生态系统中某种群体的减少如何影响其他物种？添加一个新种群（如入侵物种或转移的动物群）会对生态系统产生怎样的影响？ 4. **生态系统是什么样的系统？** 本周将进一步理解生态系统作为一个系统的特征，审视能量和物质在环境不同部分之间的流动。这包括理解生态系统内部生物和非生物因素的相互作用及各组成部分所提供的生态服务。此外，我们引入了非生物（气候变化）和生物（食草动物）的复杂互动对生态系统的影响，以及生态系统中的阈值、抵抗力与恢复力的生态概念。 5. **生态系统能否恢复？** 本周关注人类在生态系统中的角色：人类如何与环境相互作用并被其塑造。我们探讨“人类世”（目前地质时代的名称，反映人类活动的重大影响）的含义，并研究能够平衡人类需求与生物多样性的管理方法。课程最后返回戈龙戈萨国家公园，将讨论从“生态系统能否恢复？”变为“应该恢复吗？”以及“成功的恢复是什么样的？”我们探讨保护策略如何适应未来的挑战，如气候变化、物种灭绝和人口增长。同时引入了从保护土地和物种，到将生物多样性纳入市场经济，再到创建与管理“新型”生态系统等一系列保护方法的概念。
Name:Can an Ecosystem Recover?
Description:We begin in Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique, and pose the question: Can this ecosystem recover after a 15-year civil war? To answer this question, learners must first consider what they need to know—what are the parts that make up this ecosystem, and how do they interact and work together? How do ecosystems react to disruption? How do we know? We will begin to explore the ecosystem as a dynamic whole rather than as a collection of parts, considering how changes might affect the system in a variety of ways. This application of a systems thinking lens to understanding ecosystems will be a common theme throughout the course.
Name:How Do We Study Populations?
Description:This week, we narrow the focus to populations within ecosystems. Who or what populates an ecosystem, and what are their roles? How do these roles change over time? What happens when a species is removed from a system? How do scientists study the populations within an ecosystem, from its largest to its smallest inhabitants? You will explore the important roles different species can play—such as ecosystem engineers, keystone species, and indicator species—and how they shape their ecosystems.
Name:How Do Species Coexist?
Description:This week we focus on community ecology and further explore the interactions between species in an ecosystem. For instance, how does the decline in a population from an ecosystem (as was the case in Gorongosa) affect the other players? How does adding a population -- such as an invasive species or translocated herds -- affect an ecosystem?
Name:How is an Ecosystem a System?
Description:This week, we will further their understanding about what makes an ecosystem a system by examining the flow of energy and matter through different parts of the environment. This includes understanding the interactions of biotic and abiotic factors within an ecosystem and the services each component provides. We will introduce the complicated effects of both abiotic (climate change) and biotic (herbivory) interactions within a coastal salt marsh system, touching on ecological concepts of thresholds in a system and ecosystem resistance and resilience.
Name:Can an Ecosystem Recover?
Description:This week we conclude by focusing on the role of humans in ecosystems: how humans interact with and are shaped by their environments. We explore the meaning of the “anthropocene” (the title given to the current geological age in recognition of significant impact of human activities) and investigate management approaches that balance human needs and biodiversity. We also return to Gorongosa National Park to wrap up the course, shifting the conversation from "Can an ecosystem recover?" to "Should it recover?" and "What does a successful recovery look like?" We explore how conservation might have to adjust to future challenges such as climate change, extinctions, and human population growth. We also introduce the idea that a spectrum of conservation approaches is necessary, from the preservation of land and species, to the integration of biodiversity into market economies, to the creation and management of “novel” ecosystems.
This course is an introduction to ecology and ecosystem dynamics using a systems thinking lens. Through a case study on Mozambique's Gorongosa National Park, learners will explore how scientists study ecosystems, and investigate the complex array of factors that inform management efforts. At the end of the course, learners will be able to grapple with real-world conservation questions, such as whether an ecosystem can recover from anthropogenic disruption and what role humans can, and should, play in that recovery.
