From 5 to 16 November 2018, Arnaud Bertrand (IRD/MARBEC) gave a 60-hour lecture in ecosystem ecology in Recife, Brazil. This lecture forms part of the Master and Doctorate program of the Federal (UFPE – Department of oceanography) and Federal Rural (UFRPE – Department of fisheries and aquaculture) Universities of Pernambuco. This Lecture is also a contribution to the LMI TAPIOCA and the EU H2020 PADDLE project (grant agreement 73427).