Syllabus
| Date | Lecture topic | Lab | Readings |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Week 1
9/5 |
Introduction: what is theoretical ecology? | - | Grainger et al. (2021) An empiricist’s guide to using ecological theroy. The American Naturalist, 199: 1-20 |
|
Week 2
9/12 |
Exponential population growth | Solving exponential growth equation using “deSolve” & Visualization | Gotelli [Ch.1], Case[Ch.1] |
|
Week 3
9/19 |
Logistic population growth and stability analysis | Shinny App for logistic population growth | Gotelli [Ch.2], Case[Ch.5], Otto & Day[Ch.5] |
|
Week 4
9/26 |
Harvesting and bifurcation | Alternative stable state diagram | Pastor [Ch. 7], Strogatz [Ch. 3] |
|
Week 5
10/3 |
Metapopulations and patch occupancy models | Metapopulations and patch occupancy models | Gotelli [Ch.4], Case[Ch.16] |
|
Week 6
10/10 |
No class (National holiday) | - | - |
|
Week 7
10/17 |
Age-structured population models | Age-structured population model | Gotelli [Ch.3], Case[Ch.3] |
|
Week 8
10/24 |
Lotka-Volterra model of competition: graphical analysis | Lotka-Volterra competition model - Population dynamics | Gotelli [Ch.5], Case[Ch.14] |
|
Week 9
10/31 |
Midterm exam | - | - |
|
Week 10
11/7 |
Lotka-Volterra model of competition: invasion analysis and linear stability analysis | Lotka-Volterra competition model - Visualization of dynamics with complex eigenvalues | Otto & Day [Ch.8] Broekman et al. (2019) Signs of stabilization and stable coexistence. Ecology Letters, 22: 1957-1975 |
|
Week 11
11/14 |
Predator-prey interactions (I) | Lotka-Volterra model of predator-prey interactions and time-scale separation | Gotelli [Ch.6], Case[Ch.12, 13] |
|
Week 12
11/21 |
Predator-prey interactions (II) + Discussion on May (1972) | Rosenzweig-MacArthur predator-prey model and May’s complexity-stability relationship | Gotelli [Ch.6], Case[Ch.12, 13] May (1972). Will a large complex system be stable? Nature, 238: 413-414 |
|
Week 13
11/28 |
Mechanistic models for consumer-resource dynamics | Parameter space for apparent competition model | Tilman (1980) Resources: A graphical-mechanistic approach to competition and predation. The American Naturalist, 116: 162-193 Armstrong & McGehee (1980) Competitive exclusion. The American Naturalist, 115: 151-170. |
|
Week 14
12/5 |
Multispecies models of predation: apparent competition | Resource competition | Holt (1977) Predation, apparent competition, and the structure of prey communities. Theoretical Population Biology, 12:197-229 |
|
Week 15
12/12 |
Research applcations: plant-soil feedback as an example | - | - |
|
Week 16
12/19 |
Final exam | - | - |