Ecology (Taught in Chinese)

Overview

This  program is offered by the Department of Ecology and the Department of  Biology in the College of Chemistry and Life Sciences, Zhejiang Normal  University. The program integrates a variety of aspects of the  discipline of ecology, from microecology to macroecology, to allow  students to learn all the important facets of ecology both in theory and  practice. Students will learn the major components of ecology,  including the traditional plant ecology, animal ecology, biogeography,  and molecular ecology, and the recently developed ecological studies  such as the global change ecology.

Introduction

The  Department of Biology of Zhejiang Normal University (ZJNU) was founded  in 1982, and the College of Chemistry and Life Science was established  in 1999. At present, this college offers graduate programs leading to the degree of Master of Science in Chemistry, Biology, and Ecology.

The  Master Program of Ecology was initially set up in 2003, and the Ecology  was evaluated as a Key Discipline of Zhejiang Province in 2005.  Understanding the interaction of organisms with their environment and  with one another is a classic task of ecological research and a  practical issue in our society. However, people are having an enormous  impact on the environment through resource use, habitat degradation, and  climate change. The master degree in Ecology is designed to help  students understand the interaction of animals, plants, fungi, and  microorganisms with their environment and the relationship between  people and the rest of the biosphere. The program covers the core  conceptual issues of Ecology in its broadest sense. The degree covers a  wide range of topics, including four key research directions: plant  ecology, animal ecology, restoration ecology, and agricultural ecology.  The training courses, practice, and master thesis will normally last for  three years. In each year, 15–18 master students are recruited from  universities in China, and currently, 46 master students were enrolled  during 2017-2019. We will offer 8–10 positions for the international  students in each year.

This  master program relies on the provincial Key Discipline of Ecology,  Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Wildlife Biotechnology, Conservation and  Utilization, and the ZJNU Collaborative Innovation Center for Ecology  and Environmental Science and Technology, the Institute of Ecology, and  the Institute of Special Aquatic Products. The Field Observation and  Research Station of Subtropical Ecosystems in Jinhua Mountain and the  Sino-European Research Center on Global Change Ecology are being built  up. Sufficient working space and important field and lab infrastructures  are located in six key laboratories at ZJNU: animal ecology, plant  ecology, plant ecophysiology, pollution ecology, global change ecology,  past environmental change, and paleoecology. Moreover, three labs are  provided from the collaborative institution, the Zhejiang Institute of  Agriculture: agricultural ecology, insect ecology, and the center for  biochar engineering and technology.

Supervised  by a member of staff and cooperated with some external organizations  and funding agencies, the master degree-related projects aim to address  crucial scientific and practical questions in the fields of ecological  and environmental sciences. Based on multi-level and multi-disciplinary  approaches such as from macroecology to molecular ecology, from field  works to experiments, and combining theoretical and applied  explorations, we focus on studies of biodiversity conservation of rare  and endemic species, utilization of wildlife resources, ecosystem  structure and functions and ecological restoration, ecotoxicology and  environmental protection, and bio-resources of agriculture.  Interdisciplinary scientists work together to educate master students  and early careers of ecology and to achieve unique scientific research  at local, regional, national, and international levels. The final aim is  to provide the society and government with sound information for  decision-making on the ecological construction and the sustainable  development of livable environments in Zhejiang Province.

The  Master Degree in Ecology has 28 researchers involved. A total of 15  supervisors are included, eight of whom are professors and five are  associate professors.

More  than 60 completed and ongoing projects are conducted during the past  decade, including, seventeen projects funded by the National Natural  Science Foundation of China, four key projects from the National Key  Research and Development Program and the National Key Basic Research  Program, and more than 40 projects from the Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province.

We have published more than 100 papers in the international journals, such as Plant, Cell and Environment, Quaternary Science Reviews, PloS ONE, Journal of Experimental Botany, Mitochondrial DNA, Hormones and Behavior, Chemosphere, and Journal of Natural History. More than 100 papers have been published in top ecology journals in Chinese, such as Acta Ecologica Sinica, Chinese Journal of Plant Ecology, Chinese Journal of Ecology, Chinese Journal of Applied Ecology, Quaternary Research, Biodiversity Science, and Journal of Soil and Water Conservation.

Research directions

Plant Ecology:  Biodiversity conservation; ecosystem structure and functioning, pattern  and processes of subtropical evergreen broadleaved forests; impacts of  climate change and human disturbances on ecosystems and their feedback  at local to regional scales and from past to the future.

Animal Ecology:  Molecular phylogeographical and evolutionary studies on genetic  diversity and biological adaptation of endemic and endangered wild  animals; resource investigation, biological conservation and effects of  habitat fragmentation and human disturbances on biodiversity change,  extinction risk of rare animal species and conservation strategy;  wildlife’s domestication and artificial breeding technology using  functional genes and molecular methods and utilization of their  biological active substances.

Restoration Ecology:  Environmental and ecotoxicological impacts of environmental pollutants  derived from industrial and agricultural productions on human and  wildlife; risk assessment of environmental health; ecological  restoration and recovery of polluted and degraded ecosystems, water, and  soils.

Agricultural Ecology:  Manufacture of new soil fertilizers; habitat recovery using biochar;  functional diversity of agricultural insects and protection of natural  predators of pests; comprehensive treatments of agricultural pests.

Goals

1. Nurture  students’ abilities in creativity; cultivate students with the spirit  of exploration and scientific ethics; help them to be able to flexibly  apply scientific methodologies and logical thinking in their research.

2. Nurture students’ ability in systemically acquiring basic knowledge in modern agricultural biotechnology; Help them:

to be familiar with current status and future trends in their own research fields;

to master the modern techniques and skills required for their research;

to possess the ability in logical reasoning and in scientific management;

to acquire the ability in reading, writing, and presenting; and

to possess the ability to teach or pursue research independently in related fields.

Duration

The  normal length of master's degree program of the first-level discipline  is 3 years, no more than 5 years. Among the first three semesters,  graduates should accomplish the study courses and the proposals of  master's degree. Graduates should write papers of master's degree and  conduct oral defense. Outstanding graduate students can apply for  graduation in advance.

Training Strategy and Teaching Mode

1.Courses:  The first through third semesters are the course-study stage. As  required by the training program, students should actively attend the  corresponding courses, and a minimum of 31 credits are required for master's degree thesis and oral defense.

2.Professional practice:  The graduate students, combined with the features of this major, should  actively participate in various social practices to enhance their  understanding of the society and service for the society.

3.Academic activities:  To broaden the academic vision, the graduate students should  participate in related academic conferences or seminars no less than 10  times.

4.Research:  Before the end of the third semester, the graduate students shall have a  preliminary proposal defense, submit a dissertation work plan, and  start conducting their research. The proposal should include the source  of the selected topic, rationales, significance, research contents,  research materials, and methods.

5.Dissertation defense:  The graduate students must submit the final version of dissertation 3  months before the end of the graduation semester. The students must  finish the dissertation defense 1 month before the end of the graduation  semester.

Research Ability and Outcomes

1.Be able to read scientific literature independently and summarize literature for the related issues.

2.Be  able to conduct inductive logic for the problems generated in the  process of summarizing literature and then have a further improvement.

3.Be  able to carry on research design and thinking independently, have a  basic ability of investigating methods and problems, and propose some  relatively mature views and ideas.

Thesis and Degree Conferment

1.The  degree thesis topic has a big theoretical value and actual application  prospect, correct and full argument, scientific method, novel viewpoint,  original opinion, strict logicality, complete structure, and  appropriate content.

2.The  whole degree thesis should accurately summarized thesis topics  (research direction) involving the necessary basic theory, latest  results, and dynamic research state. The main content and viewpoints can  reflect the latest research results and innovation in this field and  the actual level of postgraduates to discover, analyze, and solve  problems.

3.Graduates,  who pass oral defense by all of the committee members, will be granted  master's degree, provided that either he/she published one paper (as the  first author or second author provided that the first author is the  tutor) in the open academic journals or had thesis blind review scores  of no less than 80.