Population Ecology 1400-216POP-W

How to define a population - different points of view: population as ecological unit, population as evolutionary unit, population as a unit of studies. Brief history of population studies. Lecture 2. An individual as a member of population – theoretical and practical point of view. Lecture 3. Ecological and evolutionary consequences of “settled” plants. Lecture 4. Natality in plant and animal populations; the definition of potential and actual natality. Lecture 5. Mortality of individuals in a population; potential and actual mortality. Lecture 6. “Migrations” of plants in space – factors influencing genetic structure of population of settled organisms. Lecture 7. “Migrations” of plants in time. Seed dormancy as a stage of individual life cycle. Lecture 8. Population density – the definition. Undercrowding and overcrowding. Allee effects and compensation. Lecture 9. Seasonal and multi annual dynamics of animal and plant populations. Lecture 10. Population structure and organization. Lecture 11. The distribution of body size of individuals within population. The importance of individual body size in plants and animals. Lectures 12 and 13. The social and spatial organization of population – the types of distribution of organisms in space. Factors affecting the distribution of individuals. Lectures 14 and 15. Groups of organisms. Costs and benefits of living in groups.