Learning outcome

After completing the course, the students should have the following qualifications regarding knowledge, skills, and general competence:

• Be familiar with the basic and important terms in behavioural, population and community ecology
• Understand how environmental factors affect the distribution and numbers of both species, populations and individuals, and community composition
• Be able to put this knowledge to use in wildlife management and conservation biology

Course Description

Main topics:

• Autecology and plant physiology, plants and environmental factors, distribution of Norwegian plants, vegetation zones and sections, plants as indicator species
• Population dynamics, population growth, life history strategies
• Competition, predation, parasitism, mutualism
• Island biogeography (geographic ecology)
• Natural selection, individual selection, group selection
• Optimal foraging strategies, evolutionary arms race, group behaviour
• Sexual selection, parental care and mating systems, altruism and selfishness

Assessment Methods

Student performances will be evaluated through two written exams (3 hours each), where A and F denotes the best and lowest grades, respectively. The two exams counts 50% each of the final grade. Both exams must receive passing grades before a final grade is given for the course.

Minor adjustments may occur during the academic year, subject to the decision of the Dean