OEKB301337 Behavioural and population ecology

Type
Lecture and seminar
Semester hours
3
Lecturer (assistant)
Landler, Lukas , Oehler, Felicitas , Mattsson, Brady
Organisation
Wildlife Biology and Game Management
Offered in
Sommersemester 2026
Languages of instruction
Deutsch
Content

This course provides an overview on behavioural ecology and population ecology in animal systems. The first part "population ecology" encompasses the main principles of population growth under different conditions and the choice of methods and analyse and use of models in population estimates. A main aim will be to strengthen capacity to 1) estimate population densities, and 2) building feasable hypotheses and asking the adequate questions when solving problems in wildlife management.
The second part " behavioural ecology" gives a basic introduction regarding divere forms of behaviour, foraging, habitat choice, communication, sexual selection and reproductive biology.
This background will enable the students to conduct their own studies on wild animals along with critically assessing relevant literature, research projects, and management efforts.
Previous knowledge expected


Objective (expected results of study and acquired competences)

By the end of this course, stundents are expected to readily peform the following:

Construct research questions based on critical examination of scientific literature.

Formulate corresponding hypotheses that are empirically testable.

Identify methods of data collection (e.g.,capture-mark-recapture) for examining these hypotheses.

Describe particular elements regarding the complexity of behavioral and population ecology . In the first part " population ecology ", these include fundamental principles such as population dynamics, survival analysis, and abundance/density estimation along with the associate probability distributions (e.g. Poisson).

In the second section " behavioral ecology ", the main elements include principles of foraging, habitat selection, and reproduction.

By preparing and giving oral presesntations, the students will intensively learn to read critically, synthesize literature, and engage in a scientific discourse within a broader context of the course. Through interactive discussions, students learn to critically examine issues and distinguish roles in the discourse including the speaker as discussion leader and participating students as critics. Students gain the ability to argue and defend scientific arguments.
You can find more details like the schedule or information about exams on the course-page in BOKUonline.