3731.07 - General Ecology

3731.07

General Ecology

6

To provide the student with a thorough introduction to the principles of modern ecology, mainly based on North Atlantic scenario.

Abiotic factors: correlation between climate and vegetation, e.g. microclimate, primary production and evapotranspiration, primary and secondary succession, ecosystems. Physiological ecology: Optimum and tolerance, metabolic and kinetic energetic, water economy. Population ecology: age distribution, reproductive rate, population growth and regulation, dependence and independence of density, population cycles, territoriality. Population interaction: inter- and intraspecific competiton, parasitism, symbiosis. Ecological niche: hypervolume model, niche overlap, niche competition, specialization versus generalization, niche evolution. Ecosystems: Food chains and nets, tropic level, energy-, number- and biomass pyramids, energy flow and ecologic energetic, individual and species saturation, species diversity, stability. Biogeography: Classical biogeography, island biogeography, islands as ecological experiments, nature conservancy.

45 lectures. 15 hours seminar.

4-hour written examination. No aids. Marks are also given for written exercises. The average of the marks weighs 20 % of the examination. The 13-grade scale is used.

Eyðfinn Magnussen