Evolutionary Ecology

Inhalt

Dieses Modul präsentiert und veranschaulicht grundlegende Konzepte in der Ökologie und der Evolutionsbiologie. Im Teil Ökologie, beleuchtet es und integriert es die Prozesse, über verschiedene Organisationsebenen: Individuen, Populationen, Arten und Gemeinschaften. In der Vorlesung werden die Zusammenhänge zwischen diesen Ebenen der biologischen Komplexität untersucht. Die Studierenden lernen, wie die jeweiligen Stufen von der Umwelt beeinflusst werden.

Im Teil Evolution gewinnen die Studierenden einen Überblick über evolutionäre Prozesse und deren Zusammenhänge. Sie lernen diese Prozesse auf verschiedenen räumlichen und zeitlichen Skalen zu verknüpfen und die Bedeutung ökologischer Prozesse für evolutionäre Dynamiken zu verstehen. Die Studierenden erhalten Einblick in die Prinzipien, die der Geschichte des Lebens auf unserem Planeten zugrunde liegen. Sie lernen moderne evolutionstheoretische Konzepte kennen und können diese historisch einordnen. Sie können Erklärungsansätze zu grundlegenden Fragen der Evolutionsbiologie zur Artbildung, Kooperation und geschlechtlicher Fortpflanzung wiedergeben. Die theoretischen Inhalte der Vorlesung werden anhand ausgewählter Beispiele in drei Übungen praktisch vertieft.

During this course, students are introduced to ecological field research and its associated observational and experimental study designs. The practical will consist of conducting experiments in semi-natural field setups to study cause-and-effect relationships as well as observational field studies. The data are analyzed using modern statistics and the conclusions presented and discussed.

Learning outcomes:

1. Students will acquire insights in ecological processes

2. Students will learn to design studies aimed at investigate ecological processes

3. Students will learn how study cause-effect relationships and the value of experimental and observational field studies

4.  Students learn to analyze, interpret and present ecological research data

The students will learn to interpret new research findings in the field of ecology by extracting main outcomes of scientific publications and present it to an audience. They will be able to lead discussions about experiments/analysis of a wide field of ecological topics and exchange their ideas.

The goal of the seminar is to prepare each student for writing scientific grant applications. Students find and read relevant literature; write a research plan and discuss this plan with various people; preliminary data or preliminary analysis needed for the proposal can be collected by IRT3 or other reserach internships/courses. They write a grant proposal in the format of large funding agencies (e.g., DFG or DAAD). Finally, students present their proposals with a talk at the IRT3 Conference.

You have to give a scientific presentation and want to ...

• know how to start
• where do you find reliable background information
• improve your slides
• connect with your audience
• find a good finish
• know what is constructive feedback
  

This e-learning course will help you.

You have to work step by step to see the next learning chapter. The spending time is depending on your background and insensitivity working with the exercises (approximately 2-3 hours).

The course is originally developed for a group of students to work through the course together to share their ideas and to give peer-to-peer feedback.

 Nevertheless you can go through the exercises also on your own to improve your presentation skill.