Advanced Ecology

Knowledge:

• Key concepts, theories and hypotheses in ecology
• The spatial and temporal distribution of species and organisms
• The biology of fungi, protists, plants and animals of importance to ecosystem function and/or which are typical of different environments
• The function of freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems and their interaction with local, regional and/or global systems, including global change

Skills:

• Hypothesize, independently formulate and conduct empirical studies/experiments, in the field and in the laboratory, and explain, communicate and put into perspective a scientific problem, both orally and in writing
• Use relevant experimental techniques, methods of quantification and equipment, both in the field and in the laboratory, including the competences required to evaluate the complexity of the data collected, sources of error and methodological uncertainties
• Summarise - orally and in writing - a research subject using original scientific literature as the basis
• Make the case for a scientific thesis using empirical knowledge and scientific inference
• Use quantitative, including statistical, methods of relevance to the subject area

Competences:

• Understand and present the structure and function of complex ecosystems
• Manage, advice on, and conduct research into ecosystems, based on in-depth biological knowledge
• Illustrate and analyse a biological phenomenon by distinguishing between immediate (how?) and evolutionary (why?) causes and explanations
• Explain and discuss the distribution and density of species on local and regional scales
• Explain the important physical, chemical and biological characteristics of different ecosystems, and understand how organisms adapt and respond to changes in them
• Analyse the occurrence and activity of organisms in relation to the physical/chemical environment
• Explain and discuss the evolutionary adaptations of organisms to a given environment and their behaviour in relation to/response to both members of the same species and individuals of other species
• Evaluate interactions between individuals at different trophic levels, e.g. plants/herbivores, prey/predators, and host organisms/parasites/mutualists/diseases