Bi7370 Fundamentals of Ecology

Faculty of Science
Autumn 2023
Extent and Intensity
1/1/0. 2 credit(s) (fasci plus compl plus > 4). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
doc. Jeffrey Clark Nekola, PhD. (lecturer)
prof. RNDr. Michal Horsák, Ph.D. (assistant)
Guaranteed by
doc. Jeffrey Clark Nekola, PhD.
Department of Botany and Zoology – Biology Section – Faculty of Science
Contact Person: doc. Jeffrey Clark Nekola, PhD.
Supplier department: Department of Botany and Zoology – Biology Section – Faculty of Science
Timetable
Tue 12:00–13:50 D32/329
Prerequisites
Bi6340 Macro- and community ecology || NOW( Bi6340 Macro- and community ecology )
Introductory Biology, Introductory Chemistry & mathematics through algebra
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
The capacity limit for the course is 24 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 16/24, only registered: 0/24, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/24
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The aim of the course is to overview the foundational concepts and ideas underlying the discipline of ecology. It is meant to serve upper level undergraduates and entry-level graduate students. Through this course students will be introduced to the core concepts grounding most of the major ecological subdisciplines (population ecology and demography; species interactions; community ecology; macroecology). This material will be presented in English through lectures and classroom assignments.
Learning outcomes
While the course expects mastery of many foundational concepts, ideas, and facts in the field, perhaps more importantly it will teach students to think like an ecologist. Successful participants should leave this course having permanently changed how they look at biological and ecological issues. In particular students should learn to:
  • Appreciate the natural world around them including the great diversity of species and the multiplicity of adaptations.
  • Understand how ecosystems work so as to be better able to predict the likely impacts of human activity.
  • Understand the interplay between observation and theory critical to the advancement of ecological science so that you can evaluate the validity of published research.
    • Syllabus
    • Hour 1. Class introduction. History of ecology.
      • POPULATION DYNAMICS
    • Hour 2. Models of population growth.
    • Hour 3. Life Tables.
    • Hour 4. Fertility Tables.
    • Hour 5. Life history traits.
    • Hour 6. Regulation of population size.
    • Hour 7. Regulation of individual size.
      • POPULATION INTERACTIONS
    • Hour 8. Lotka-Volterra Competition Models.
    • Hour 9. Resource-Ratio Competition models.
    • Hour 10. Predator-Prey Models - Classical.
    • Hour 11. Predator-Prey Models - Modern.
      • Hour 12. Mid-Term Exam.
    • Hour 13. Herbivory.
    • Hour 14. Mutualisms.
      • COMMUNITY ECOLOGY
    • Hour 15. Community structure and niche theory.
    • Hour 16. Species diversity: Measurement.
    • Hour 17. Species diversity: Mechanisms.
    • Hour 18. Disturbance ecology.
    • Hour 19. Succession - 1.
    • Hour 20. Succession - 2.
      • MACROECOLOGY
    • Hour 21. Species Richness and Abundance.
    • Hour 22. Compositional Turnover.
    • Hour 23. Body Size.
      • Hour 24. Final Examination.
    Literature
    • KREBS, Charles J. Ecology : the experimental analysis of distribution and abundance. 6th ed. San Francisco, Calif.: Benjamin Cummings, 2009, xv, 655. ISBN 9780321604682. info
    Teaching methods
    The course will be taught via lectures in conjunction with classroom assignments. Throughout I will encourage an interactive atmosphere in which the students are able to ask questions and consider the optimum answers.
    Assessment methods
    Course evaluation will be based on two equally weighted exams. Lecture and textbook readings will both be covered on the exams with their relative importance being about 2:1. All examinations will be comprehensive. However, material covered on earlier examinations will largely attempt to assess application of concepts and principles rather than specific facts. It is highly unlikely that a student would be able to pass the exams without attending lectures.
    Language of instruction
    English
    Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
    Study Materials
    The course is taught annually.
    Teacher's information
    Office: 32/328; email: nekola@sci.muni.cz
    The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2019, Autumn 2020, autumn 2021, Autumn 2022, Autumn 2024.
    • Enrolment Statistics (Autumn 2023, recent)
    • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/sci/autumn2023/Bi7370