ECOLOGY OF POPULATIONS AND COMMUNITIES
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Ecology
The exam will be oral for a duration of 20 minutes and includes:
• the assessment of knowledge on the dynamics and mechanisms that regulate communities (50%);
• the assessment of knowledge on quantitative and molecular ecology analyses (20%).
At the end of the lab, the presentation of a technical report including the results of the statistical analyses of ecological data will be required (30%).
The course provides an in-depth knowledge on:
1) community ecology: analysis of the structural and functional relationships that define communities;
2) analysis of the complexity within interspecific and intraspecific relationships;
3) analysis of evolutionary relationships;
4) quantitative and molecular ecology analyses.
In addition, the quantitative ecology lab promotes the acquisition of skills on ecological data analyses and on writing of technical report.
Expected learning outcomes:
1) knowledge of the main theories on community ecology;
2) experience with mathematical models related to fluctuation dynamics to define species coexistence;
3) knowledge of community ecology and its evolutionary implications;
4) knowledge of evolutionary structure within and among populations and communities;
5) knowledge of quantitative and molecular ecology analyses.
The course provides:
• ability to use mathematical and statistical models to analyze population and community processes. Learn to interpret the results and formulate new hypotheses;
• statistical analyses skills to be summarized in a technical report.
The topics proposed in the course are:
• theories on the development of biological diversity [4 hours];
• species interaction models [4 hours];
• competition in nature: empirical and theoretical patterns [4 hours];
• final and non-final effects on evolutionary and ecological adaptation dynamics [4 hours];
• theories and debates on ecology and evolution [4 hours];
• multivariate analyses [4 hours];
• statistical descriptors [4 hours].
The course includes a laboratory on statistical analyses of ecological data. Specifically, a case study on the effects of anthropogenic activities on river benthic macroinvertebrate community will be investigated. Quantitative ecology tools will be aimed at analyzing the structure and functions of the benthic macroinvertebrate community and the relationships with environmental parameters.
The quantitative ecology lab [40 hours] includes the analysis of taxonomic and functional composition of the community, the calculation of richness, diversity and quality indices, univariate and multivariate statistical analyses of both biotic and abiotic data, analyses of the relationships between biotic and abiotic parameters.
14 lectures (28 hours)
40 lab hours: exercises mainly based on statistical analyses of ecological data
Participation in the quantitative ecology lab is strongly suggested.
The teachers are available for interview with students by appointment via e-mail: serena.zaccara@uninsubria.it
For the lab:
silvia.quadroni@uninsubria.it
Professors
Borrowers
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Degree course in: ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES