Organisms do not exist in isolation; they are parts of populations within communities and of communities within ecosystems. This module aims to show how terrestrial ecosystems function, how they are structured and which organisms do what. We will start by discussing population growth, population size and population interactions (competition, predation, herbivory, mutualism, disease and parasitism). We then examine how communities are structured, the interactions between components, the diversity of components, and the nature and pattern of community change over time. We will also discuss applications of ecological theory to problems of pest control and conservation.
Learning Outcomes:
To pass this module students will need to be able to:
1. describe and discuss the abundance and growth of natural populations;
2. define and discuss the processes of predation, parasitism, competition and mutualism;
3. describe and discuss species interactions in natural communities and ecosystems including applied problems in pest control and biological conservation;
4. describe and discuss distribution and abundance at the community level, including succession and biodiversity;
5. describe and discuss the dynamics of equilibriuim and nonequilibrium communities;
6. show competence in (a) analysis and interpretation of quantitative data (b) in written communication (c) in using web-based resources for learning.
Learning Outcomes:
To pass this module students will need to be able to:
1. describe and discuss the abundance and growth of natural populations;
2. define and discuss the processes of predation, parasitism, competition and mutualism;
3. describe and discuss species interactions in natural communities and ecosystems including applied problems in pest control and biological conservation;
4. describe and discuss distribution and abundance at the community level, including succession and biodiversity;
5. describe and discuss the dynamics of equilibriuim and nonequilibrium communities;
6. show competence in (a) analysis and interpretation of quantitative data (b) in written communication (c) in using web-based resources for learning.