The vast deep sea is the largest living space on earth and yet less than 5% of the seafloor has been explored in some details. In fact, we have better maps for the Moon, Mars, or even Venus due to our planet’s watery veil. The variety of habitats and the complex relationship with its inhabitants gives rise to diverse communities, providing important ecosystem functions and services, and maintaining the elemental cycling in the ocean. However, climate changes and human activities on the seafloor have created unprecedented challenges and threats to the deep-sea ecosystems. These seemingly pristine environments have undergone major changes that out-pace our understanding of factors that drive the spatial and temporal patterns of the deep-sea ecosystems. This course will cover major topics in deep-sea ecology including the physical environments and history, sampling techniques, adaptations of deep-sea organisms, community composition and functions, major habitats, and anthropogenic effects. By the end of this course, students are expected to be able to: 1) Describe the co-varying effects of physical environments on the adaptation of deep-sea organisms 2) Describe the effects of depth and the co-varying factors on abundance, composition, diversity and functions of deep-sea communities 3) Compare and contrast various deep-sea habitats, the key processes and associated communities 4) Evaluate the potential impacts of human activities on deep-sea ecosystem 5) Read and understand a scientific literature in deep-sea ecology, evaluate its findings and discuss its implications 6) Synthesize and review a selected topic in deep-sea ecology, orally present and lead discussion in its background, controversies and future directions College of Science Main Campus Grading: Participation 30% Discussion 20% Presentation 40% Quizzes 10% Paper discussions: Sessions will be divided evenly among students (60 minutes following the main lecture). Each student will select a paper (related to deep-sea ecology) to lead the discussion. Discussion leader will provide an outline for the discussion of each paper on PowerPoint slides (30 minutes), presenting: the rational for study, hypotheses or goals, major findings, and conclusions. Discussion leader should prepare with one or two questions to stimulate discussion, addressing strengths, weaknesses, significance, and future directions for the study. Discussion leader will receive an evaluation of the presentation by their peers. Grading (discussion) is depending upon the active participation in discussion led by student. Chih-Lin, Wei 15 Monday 6,7 Ocean5089 (241EU4080) 2 http://www.oc.ntu.edu.tw/?lang=en

I open several related courses. Please visit our lab website for more detailed info on how to choose my lectures based on your preference. http://homepage.ntu.edu.tw/~tksmiki/for_Students_%28zhong_wen%29.html This is a course intended for students with basic knowledge of life science and/or ecology. Most examples are based on ecological processes, but students in any fields of life science are also welcome. The skills to build and analyze a dynamical model will be obtained in the first stage. The computer software to easily analyze mathematical models without programming will be provided. In the second stage, students will select a subject based on his/her own interest and will learn how to develop a model based on the subject and how to analyze the model. Major topics include: 1. What is the role of theory in biology? 2. Non-spatial population dynamics model 3. Stage-structured population 4. Spatial heterogeneity 5. Interspecific interaction (competition, prey-predator, and herbivory) 6. Ecosystem 7. How to develop a new model? The objectives are to provide students know-how and tacit knowledge to develop a new dynamical model based on research interest. Opportunities to learn basic modeling blocks and how to analyze dynamical models are also provided. College of Science Main Campus Every student needs to bring his/her own notebook PC/Mac (or Linux). Students are expected to develop their own models in the final stage based on his/her own interest. Backgrounds in some filed of life science/biology are required. Takeshi Miki 10 Wednesday 2,3,4 Ocean5090 (241EU4090) 3 (College of Science) Graduate Institute of Oceanography, Marine Biology & Fisheries Division,
http://www.oc.ntu.edu.tw/?lang=en

This course is designed to teach the usage of R for the analysis of ecological data. It will introduce students to several different analysis options for biological or ecological data (focusing specifically on community-level data) using the free & open-source statistical, mapping, and graphing platform R. Broad topics covered will include: introduction to R language and basic functions / graphics; basic mapping options; diversity measurement; univariate, multivariate, parametric and non-parametric analysis and their basis; functional diversity; and ecological time series analysis. Students will require a laptop for sessions. Schedule is subject to changes according to student progress. College of Science Main Campus Basic knowledge in ecology, biology and informatics Vianney Denis 10 Tuesday 6,7,8 Ocean5098 (241EU5050) 3 (College of Science) Graduate Institute of Oceanography, Marine Biology & Fisheries Division http://www.oc.ntu.edu.tw/?lang=en

This course is designed to guide students to learn about the organic matters in coral reef environment with a focus on the relatively overlooked dissolved organic matter. Coral reef ecosystem is highly productive and hosts a diverse community. To evaluate the sustainability of a reef ecosystem, we need to elucidate details on the organic nutrient cycling and thus such a research topic is emerging. During this course, we will go through recent discoveries on the biogeochemistry of the organic matter in reef waters around the world. We will also provide case studies to help students acquire analytical methods for characterizing organic matter. If funding is available, we will collect reef waters for hands-on practices. We will also conduct subsequent data analysis and interpretation to the environmental issues. Each week, the course will start by me giving a brief introduction to the assigned topic. We will then spend 40 mins discussing recent published research papers relevant to the topic and another 30-40 mins to compile the data from the published research papers. We will then make our own data analysis and interpretations. Students will be required to write a minimum of five-page final report on reviewing or research report of related topics about coral reef organic geochemistry. (1) Students will know about our current understanding of reef water organic geochemistry. (2) Students will read many recently publications on reef water organic geochemistry. (3) Students will present the compiled data and provide interpretations for the data. (4) Students will identify challenges in research on organic geochemistry and seek for potential ways to overcome these challenges; compare with recently proposed research on tacking these challenges. (5) At the end of the course, students will be able to think critically and present their thoughts clearly. (6) Students will walk away from this course welcoming any questions about organic geochemistry in reef waters. (7) Ultimate goal: students will become conscious about the cycling of organic matter in coral reef waters and have knowledge on methods for characterizing organic geochemistry. College of Science Main Campus This course will be offered in English and thus, students must be able to understand English well enough to enroll. Students are required to read and present in English. This is a reading intensive course. Students are required to attend ALL classes. No more than two unexcused absences are permitted. Huei-Ting Lin 10 Monday 2,3,4 Ocean5104 (241EU6010) 3 (College of Science) Graduate Institute of Oceanography, Chemical Oceanography Division http://www.oc.ntu.edu.tw/?lang=en

This course focuses on the cultural significance and interpretation of modernity and urban space. Ever since the industrial revolution, new modes of production have led to significant changes in Western urban culture, including migration from rural to urban areas, and new formations in labor culture, consumer culture and citizen-subjects. It is through this historical process that urban space is constantly changing and being reconstituted, a process that is embedded in East-West power structures of imperialist colonial systems by rendering people from various localities with different imaginations of modernity in a global context. The modern phenomenon of urbanization has had an uneven impact on a multifarious citizenry, made up of actors with a range of identities, and therefore has contributed to the diversification of the urban experience and representations of modern life from the 19th century onward. The research topics and assigned readings, including the concept of the flâneur and urban modernity, relations between human and non-human agents, gentrification, public/private space, intimacy, and geopolitics, are interconnected, illuminating the historical trajectory of academic debates. These discussions will help us understand that the formation of modern urban life is a political process in constant flux, and to investigate how capitalism, colonial systems and the global economy shape modern urban societies, cultures and spaces as well as how the lived experiences of urban inhabitants are constantly being reshaped and represented. By studying and discussing the related scholarship, this course will critically examine ways to represent and interpret modernity and urban landscapes. The main objective is to help students gain a systematic understanding of the interrelationships between urban life and its cultural meanings, informing their critical perspectives while dissecting urban issues. This is a seminar-based discussion class. Students are required to complete all the assigned readings before class and discuss their thoughts with the instructor and peers in class. Through class participation and discussions, students are expected to come up with more critical reflections on urban issues, and acquire the critical skills of reading and analyzing texts, thereby cultivating individual research interests that build up on current scholarship. College of Science Main Campus The class will be conducted in English, but the final paper can be written in either English or Chinese. Huang Tsung Yi 15 Tuesday 7,8,9 Geog5105 (228EU3220) 3 Non-degree Program: Women and Gender Studies Certificate Program,
(College of Science) Graduate Institute of Geography,
(College of Science) Department of Geography http://www.geog.ntu.edu.tw/index.php?lang=en

Life history traits, e.g., growth rates, maturation schedules, and offspring size and number, are influenced by environmental and anthropogenic factors and in turn determine individual fitness and influence population growth rates. Because life history traits are heritable, variation in these traits tends to involve both evolutionary (genetic) and ecological (plastic) processes. Exploring life history variation provides an opportunity not only to understand the eco-evolutionary interactions that shape the observed patterns, but also to forecast population dynamics in changing environments. In this course, we design lectures to guide students to understand the concepts and theories of adaptive life history variation. In addition, we design a course project that involves field sampling and laboratory experiments with mosquitofish Gambusia affinis, allowing students to gain hands-on experience on life history research. The objectives of this course are to 1) understand the theoretical background of life history variation, and 2) explore empirical variation in growth rates, maturation schedules, and offspring size and number based on the model species, mosquitofish. 1. Understand the eco-evolutionary mechanisms underlying life history variation 2. Explore variation in growth rates, maturation schedules, and offspring size and number for the model species, mosquitofish College of Science Main Campus Hui-Yu Wang 10 Tuesday 3,4 Ocean7177 (241EM3850) 2 (College of Life Science) Institute of Life Science,
(College of Science) Graduate Institute of Oceanography, Marine Biology & Fisheries Division http://www.oc.ntu.edu.tw/?lang=en