Objectives: This course will provide the student with an overview of the research field evolutionary ecology in a broad sense.
Contents and structure: This part of the profile course will start in October and will last for nine weeks (fulltime). The course will consist of two sub-parts: genetics (2 weeks) and theoretical ecology (7 weeks). The theoretical ecology part will be concentrated around 7 themes each lasting one week:
1. From genotype to phenotype
2. Population dynamics
3. Behaviour and evolution
4. Life-history evolution
5. Sex
6. Ecosystems
7. Speciation and phylogenetics
In two or three plenary sessions (lasting three hours) a week the topics will be introduced. The remaining part of the week is meant for individual study. To prepare the plenary sessions, the students will be provided with questions and problems to enable them to test their knowledge and skills.
Coordinator
Dr. P.G.L. Klinkhamer; p.g.l.klinkhamer@biology.leidenuniv.nl
Application
application form available from www.studiegidsen.leidenuniv.nl > Wiskunde en Natuurwetenschappen > Biologie > Forms > Mastercourses
Course objective
- The student has the knowledge and overview to understand scientific lectures and to assess the significance of research papers in the field of evolutionary ecology
- The student can recognize relevant and interesting scientific problems on the basis of scientific developments
- The student can recognize relevant scientific problems on basis of social developments and practical situations
- The student can translate these problems in testable hypotheses
- The student can formulate simple problems in the form of mathematical formulas or simulation models
Remarks
For students in the mastertrack Evolutionary and Ecological sciences and others with a BSc in biology.