Population Ecology (EEE 330)
Fall 2026 (HS26)
Course Organiser & Teaching Assistants
Arpat Ozgul —
Stefan Sommer —
Daniel Breitenmoser —
Description
Population ecology asks why populations grow, decline, fluctuate, persist, or disappear. This course develops the demographic theory and quantitative models used to address these questions, with particular emphasis on wildlife conservation and management.
Course objectives
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
- translate organismal biology and life history into demographic models;
- analyse and interpret deterministic and stochastic population models;
- evaluate how vital rates, environmental variation, density dependence, harvesting, and dispersal affect population dynamics;
- use sensitivity, elasticity, and LTRE to identify demographic drivers of population change;
- understand how demographic parameters are estimated and incorporated into population models;
- evaluate population projections and PVA critically, including assumptions and uncertainty; and
- apply population models to conservation and management problems using R.
Course format
EEE330 is an intensive block course combining interactive morning lectures with guided quantitative practicals. Three practical sessions are dedicated to a rotifer population experiment, which provides data for subsequent demographic analyses and the final lab report.
Morning sessions: 09:00–12:00
Afternoon sessions: 13:30–17:00
Times may vary slightly; please follow course announcements.
Expected background
Introductory ecology and basic quantitative skills are expected. Previous experience with population models and R is helpful, but essential concepts will be refreshed during the course.
Assessment
- Final exam — 50%
- Rotifer lab report — 30%
- Participation in practicals and in-class activities — 20%
Use of AI and other tools
You are free, and encouraged, to use AI and other tools in this course, as long as you understand what they produce, check it against the biology, and take responsibility for every number and claim you hand in. Say where and how you used them. Each core calculation is done by hand once in class first, so that you can recognise when a tool gives an implausible answer. The exam and the lab report assess your reasoning and choices rather than output a tool can produce. This follows our research group’s guideline, Using AI in our research.
Schedule
Lecture and practical topics are listed below. The timetable then shows when and where each session takes place. Lecture boundaries are approximate; exercises and discussion are included in lecture time.
Lecture topics
- L1: Population ecology through the Florida panther case
- L2: Life histories, fitness, and demographic heterogeneity
- L3: From biology to structured population models
- L4: Population growth and structured dynamics
- L5: Sensitivity, elasticity, and LTRE
- L6: Variable environments, stochasticity, and small populations
- L7: Density dependence, regulation, and biotic feedbacks
- L8: Harvesting and management of exploited populations
- L9: Dispersal and spatial population dynamics
- L10: From observations to demographic parameters
- L11: Prediction, PVA, management, and synthesis
Practical topics
- P1: Quantitative and R survival kit
- P2: Population-modelling foundations
- P3: Rotifer experiment I
- P4: Structured demography
- P5: Rotifer experiment II
- P6: Rotifer experiment III
- P7: Perturbation analysis
- P8: Rotifer analysis I — vital rates, matrices, and population growth
- P9: LTRE
- P10: Rotifer analysis II — LTRE and interpretation
- P11: Relaxing assumptions in population models
- P12: Integrated management and report support
Timetable
| Date | Morning (9:00–12:00) | Afternoon (13:30–17:00) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Session | Room | Session | Room | |
| Thu 26 Nov | L1–L2 | 34J02 | P1 | 13J26 |
| Fri 27 Nov | L2–L3 | 34J02 | P2 | 13J26 |
| Tue 1 Dec | — | — | P3 | 13J26 |
| Wed 2 Dec | P4 | 34J02 | P5 | 13J26 |
| Thu 3 Dec | L4–L5 | 34J02 | P6 | 13J26 |
| Fri 4 Dec | L5–L6 | 34J02 | P7 | 13J26 |
| Tue 8 Dec | — | — | P8 | 13J96 |
| Wed 9 Dec | L6 | 34J02 | L6–L7 | 13J96 |
| Thu 10 Dec | L7–L8 | 34J02 | P9 | 13J96 |
| Fri 11 Dec | L9–L10 | 34J02 | P10 | 13J96 |
| Tue 15 Dec | — | — | P11 | 13J96 |
| Wed 16 Dec | L10–L11 | 34J02 | P12 | 13J96 |
| Thu 17 Dec | L11 | 34J02 | Self study | 13J96 |
| Fri 18 Dec | Self study | 34J02 | Final exam | 13J96 |
Computing
Students need a laptop with R and RStudio installed for the practicals. A limited number of university laptops are available; contact the course organiser in advance if needed.
Readings
There is no required textbook. For optional background reading, we recommend L. Scott Mills, A. R. Whiteley, and M. Tourani, Conservation of Wildlife Populations (3rd ed., 2025). This book is not compulsory. Selected readings and primary literature will be provided during the course.
Course website
Course materials, practicals, readings, and updates will be provided online.