3 ECTS credits
75 h study time

Offer 1 with catalog number 4023855FNR for all students in the 1st semester at a (F) Master - specialised level.

Semester
1st semester
Enrollment based on exam contract
Impossible
Grading method
Grading (scale from 0 to 20)
Can retake in second session
Yes
Enrollment Requirements
Expected familiarity with: - Ecology and fieldwork - Evolution - Molecular Ecology
Taught in
English
Faculty
Faculty of Sciences and Bioengineering Sciences
Department
Biology
Educational team
Pascal Hablützel (course titular)
Activities and contact hours
13 contact hours Lecture
13 contact hours Seminar, Exercises or Practicals
20 contact hours Independent or External Form of Study
Course Content

Ecology and evolution are entangled to an extent that ecological and evolutionary processes interact in virtually every natural system and can therefore rarely be studied separately. This course gives a theoretical and practical introduction to the interface of ecology and evolution and exemplifies how they feed back into each other. Specific topics addressed in this course include natural selection, adaptive divergence, evolution at ecological time scales, population dynamics, species interactions, ecosystem function, genetics, and plasticity. 

Additional info

Recommended literature 

  • Hendry, A. (2017) Eco-evolutionary Dynamics. Princeton University Press. 

  • Pianka, E.R. (2011) Evolutionary Ecology. 7th Edition.

Learning Outcomes

General Competences

The overall objective of the course is to introduce the students in evolutionary processes at ecological timescales and feedback mechanisms between ecology and evolution. After following this course, the students are expected to 

  • Understand the important ecological and evolutionary processes and how they interact 

  • Understand the concept of eco-evolutionary dynamics 

  • Linking evolutionary ecology with other disciplines in biology 

  • Be able to formulate a research hypothesis that addresses state-of-the-art questions in evolutionary ecology 

Grading

The final grade is composed based on the following categories:
Written Exam determines 50% of the final mark.
Other Exam determines 50% of the final mark.

Within the Written Exam category, the following assignments need to be completed:

  • Written exam with a relative weight of 5 which comprises 50% of the final mark.

Within the Other Exam category, the following assignments need to be completed:

  • Other exam with a relative weight of 5 which comprises 50% of the final mark.

Additional info regarding evaluation

Assessment will be based on: 

  • Written exam (50 %) 

  • Oral presentation of assignments (50 %) 

Allowed unsatisfactory mark
The supplementary Teaching and Examination Regulations of your faculty stipulate whether an allowed unsatisfactory mark for this programme unit is permitted.

Academic context

This offer is part of the following study plans:
Master of Biology: Ecology and Biodiversity