The Biology of Birds: Seabird Ecology and Conservation (Online)

Pre-requisites for enrolment

Students will need to be able to confidentially use videoconferencing software be comfortable with using websites.

Special Information

In order to participate in this course, you will need access to a computer with a speaker and an internet connection.

Content of Course

Understand the lives of seabirds. Understand why seabirds are different to other land birds and how they have evolved to become perfectly adapted to live in the harsh world of the seas and oceans. Learn where they live and how they feed, and some of the journeys they make to return to land every year to breed. Learn how their populations are studied by seabird ecologists, to understand the population processes (birth rates, death rates, immigration and emigration) driving their population size, and what scientists can gain by studying their behaviour. Understand the current threats they face from factors such as climate change and plastic pollution, and what we can do to protect and conserve their remarkable populations 

The course will cover three main topics:

1. Seabird Ecology – an insight into the different seabird groups, where they live, how they feed, and their annual migrations to their breeding grounds. 

2. Seabird Populations – how we study their populations, and the exciting science that emerges from these data.  

3. Seabird Conservation – how seabird populations are coping with the threat of climate change and marine plastics and what we can do to help. 

Teaching method(s)

This course will be delivered online.

Learning outcomes

On completion of this course, students will be able to: 

• Name the key differences between seabird groups

• Identify the main threats that seabirds face today

• Recognise the importance of protecting seabirds and the marine environment and identify what one can do to help seabird conservation

Queries

If you have questions regarding the course or enrolment, please contact COL Reception at Paterson's Land by email COL@ed.ac.uk or by phone 0131 650 4400.

Student support

If you have a disability, learning difficulty or health condition which may affect your studies, please let us know by ticking the 'specific support needs' box on your course application form. This will allow us to make appropriate adjustments in advance and in accordance with your rights under the Equality Act 2010. For more information please visit the Student Support section of our website.