Program Overview

Program Overview

The University of Copenhagen offers a course in Applied Insect Ecology and Biological Control, which is part of the MSc Programme in Agriculture, MSc Programme in Environment and Development, and MSc Programme in Global Environment and Development.

Course Description

The course focuses on the management of insect pest populations, requiring an ecologically based knowledge and understanding of their biology, lifecycles, and interactions with host plants and natural enemies. Climate and cropping practices affect these interactions and the resulting management strategy.

Topics Covered

• Strategies of biological control against insect and mite pests
• Applied insect-plant ecology and the influence of abiotic factors and agricultural practices on crop pests and their natural enemies
• Natural enemy groups: predators, parasitoids, microorganisms, nematodes, and their ecology
• Isolation and selection of biological control organisms, and commercially available organisms for biological control
• Prevention of attacks and manipulation of pest insects and their natural enemies, through crop management and enhancement of functional biodiversity in cropping systems
• Monitoring and forecasting methodologies of pest populations
• Cases of practical application within agriculture, horticulture, and other managed landscapes
• Barriers, challenges, and risks of using biological control strategies

Experimental Work

Students will perform a limited set of experiments related to biological control, including reporting on results. The options will vary from year to year and may include:

• Insect-prey and insect-predator interactions
• The effect of temperature/diet/host plant on insect herbivores or predators
• Bio-assays using microorganisms for biological control

Learning Outcome

Students will acquire knowledge of pest insects, their natural enemies, and biological interactions supporting environmentally friendly and sustainable pest control strategies. After the course, students should be able to:

• Describe and understand the strategies used in insect pest management and biological control
• Describe the main methods to prevent and control insect attacks
• Characterize the main types of organisms used for biological control
• Describe the principles and methods of monitoring insect pests of crops
• Describe methods used for diagnostics, isolation, characterization, laboratory bio-assays, and field experiments

Skills

• Ability to select an organism and strategy for biological control in a specified system
• Ability to select relevant methods to study interactions between natural enemies, target prey/host, and environment, and analyze results
• Analyze and process monitoring data to develop and communicate a decision background for growers
• Ability to identify and analyze potential risks when using biological control agents or other management methods

Competences

• Explain the major concepts of insect pest management
• Explain and discuss effects of crop production systems on populations of pests, natural enemies, and other insects
• Ability to combine knowledge from different disciplines into decision processes considering multitrophic interactions of ecological relevance

Literature

The course literature includes "Natural enemies: an introduction to biological control" by Hajek AE and Eilenberg J, as well as scientific articles, book chapters, and manuals for experimental parts.

Recommended Academic Qualifications

Basic knowledge about ecology, applied entomology, and microbiology is advised. Academic qualifications equivalent to a BSc degree are recommended.

Teaching and Learning Methods

The teaching and learning methods will include lectures, theoretical exercises, discussion of original scientific literature, and practical exercises.

Workload

The workload is distributed as follows:

• Lectures: 25 hours
• Preparation: 130 hours
• Theory exercises: 20 hours
• Practical exercises: 30 hours
• Exam: 1 hour
• Total: 206 hours

Exam

The exam is an individual oral examination, 20 minutes long, where students are provided a list of main topics two weeks before the exam day. The student must prepare a 10-minute presentation for each of the topics.

Course Information

• Language: English
• Course code: NPLK18001U
• Credit: 7.5 ECTS
• Level: Full Degree Master
• Duration: 1 block
• Placement: Block 2
• Schedule: B
• Course capacity: 40

Study Board

The study board responsible for this course is the Study Board of Natural Resources, Environment and Animal Science.

Contracting Department

The contracting department is the Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences.

Contracting Faculty

The contracting faculty is the Faculty of Science.

Course Coordinators

The course coordinators are Stine Kramer Jacobsen and Nicolai Vitt Meyling.