ZA213 Response of freshwater ecosystems to climate change

Faculty of Science
Spring 2025
Extent and Intensity
2/0/0. 4 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
In-person direct teaching
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Karel Brabec, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
Mgr. Karel Brabec, Ph.D.
Department of Geography – Earth Sciences Section – Faculty of Science
Contact Person: Mgr. Karel Brabec, Ph.D.
Supplier department: Department of Geography – Earth Sciences Section – Faculty of Science
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The course provides information on climate effects on freshwater ecosystems in terms of interactions with anthropogenic pressures and ecological impacts. The purpose of the course is to present dominant topics relevant to individual types of freshwater ecosystems in relation to the potential effects of climate change. The main methodological approaches, two case studies and a number of references to research results will support a theoretical overview of the issue.
Learning outcomes
Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able:
- to link variability of freshwater ecosystems over various time scales;
- to understand climate impacts on different types of freshwater system (running and stagnant waters, wetlands);
- to analyse the structural and process-based characteristics of aquatic ecosystems and their links to global change;
- to describe the relationship between climate change and anthropogenic pressures;
- to understand ecological context of climate change at the level of processes, communities and indicator characteristics;
- to identify the role of adaptation strategies in the context of the current landscape and its dynamics;
- to obtain an overview of analytical methods for assessing changes in the freshwater environment and ecological responses;
- to discuss presented case studies using obtained knowledge
Syllabus
  • 1. Variability of freshwater ecosystems
  • 2. Rivers – hydrological and morphological patterns
  • 3. Lakes, pools and other stagnant waters – temporal dynamics, role in landscape
  • 4. Wetlands - biogeochemistry
  • 5. Hydromorphology and riparian zone
  • 6. Thermal regime, water chemistry
  • 7. Ecological processes – primary production, decomposition
  • 8. Biological communities – distribution, food webs, phenology, invasions
  • 9. Ecological indicators, multiple stressors
  • 10. Paleolimnological reconstructions and other methods
  • 11. Management and adaptation strategies, restorations
  • 12. Case study: Land-water interactions, multiple-scale relationships in catchments
  • 13. Case study: Chironomidae as model group indicating environmental changes
Literature
    recommended literature
  • Dubois, N., Saulnier-Talbot, É., Mills, K., Gell, P., Battarbee, R., Bennion, H., ...Flower, R. (2018). First human impacts and responses of aquatic systems: A review of palaeolimnological records from around the world. Anthropocene Review, 5 (1), 28-68.
  • O'Briain R. (2019). Climate Change and European rivers: An eco‐hydromorphological perspective. Ecohydrology 12(5), e2099.
  • Climate change impacts on freshwater ecosystems. Edited by M. R. Kernan - R. W. Battarbee - Brian Moss. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell, 2010, xiii, 314. ISBN 9781405179133. info
    not specified
  • RHOADS, Bruce L. River dynamics : geomorphology to support management. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2020, x, 515. ISBN 9781107195424. info
  • Intermittent rivers and ephemeral streams : ecology and management. Edited by Thibault Datry - Núria Bonada - Andrew J. Boulton. London: Academic Press, 2017, xxiii, 597. ISBN 9780128038352. info
  • REDDY, K. R. and R. D. DELAUNE. Biogeochemistry of wetlands : science and applications. Boca Raton, Fla.: Taylor & Francis, 2008, xxiii, 774. ISBN 9781566706780. info
  • River futures : an integrative scientific approach to river repair. Edited by Gary J. Brierley - Kirstie A. Fryirs. Washington, DC: Society for Ecological Restoration International, 2008, xvii, 304. ISBN 9781597261135. info
  • Ecology of glacial flood plain. Edited by James V. Ward - Urs Uehlinger. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2003, xvii, 306. ISBN 9781402017926. info
  • WETZEL, Robert G. Limnology : lake and river ecosystems. 3rd ed. San Diego: Academic Press, 2001, xvi, 1006. ISBN 0127447601. info
  • MOSS, Brian. Ecology of fresh waters : man and medium, past to future. 3rd ed. Malden, Mass.: Blackwell Publishing, 1998, xvi, 557. ISBN 0632035129. info
  • The Chironomidae : biology and ecology of non-biting midges. Edited by Patrick D. Armitage - Peter S. Cranston - L. Clive V. Pinder. 1st ed. London: Chapman & Hall, 1995, 572 s. ISBN 0-412-45260-X. info
  • KNIGHTON, David. Fluvial forms and processes. London: Edward Arnold, 1984, 224 s. ISBN 0-7131-6405-0. info
Teaching methods
lectures, class discussion
Assessment methods
Examination has an oral form.
Language of instruction
English
Further Comments
The course is taught annually.
The course is taught: every week.
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2023.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2025, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/sci/spring2025/ZA213