The course consists of a series of lectures and seminars acquainting students with characteristics of various aquatic ecosystems. The main topics include:

• Zonation of lakes and categories of organisms inhabiting them.
• Rivers and streams as seen by the “river continuum” and “flood pulse” concepts.
• Production and processing of organic matter in aquatic ecosystems. Trophic status and eutrophication.
• Anaerobic environments, bacterial mats and life at the edge of the oxygen range.
• Lakes and small reservoirs as convenient sites for assemblage ecology research.

Accompanying laboratory classes will introduce students to:

• Main taxonomic groups of hydrobionts, their biology and ecology, as well as methods for their determination.
• Planning of field sampling and methods of safe fieldwork.
• Quantitative elaboration of collected samples.
• Use of hydrobionts in the assessment of the ecological status of aquatic environment.