AIMS AND CONTENT

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of the course, the student will be able to:

- outline the functioning of a complex system;

- identify drivers, mechanisms and variables influencing the system’s dynamics;

- develop models to analyse the system’s functioning;

- test, verify and validate an ecological model. 

TEACHING METHODS

The course includes lectures (24 hours) and a part of theoretical and practical laboratories (32 hours). The lectures will cover the main topics and theoretical aspects of the problems that will be addressed, practically, in the laboratories.

In the laboratory, students, independently or aggregated into small groups, and with guidance from the lecturers, will have to develop analysis and prediction models. At the end of each activity, they will be requested to test what they have developed to verify that it functions correctly and to discuss the results with the class.

Students who have valid certification of physical or learning disabilities on file with the University and who wish to discuss possible accommodations or other circumstances regarding lectures, coursework and exams, should speak both with the instructor and with Professor Sara Ferrando (sara.ferrando@unige.it), the Department’s disability liaison.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

CONCEPT OF ECOSYSTEM HEALTH AND INTEGRITY – ecosystem health as an emerging property – systemic measures / metrics of ecosystem health – exergetic analysis – network analysis – VOR health index

ECOLOGICAL MODELLING – methods for the analysis of biological and environmental data – methods for the analysis of temporal data – methods for the analysis of spatial data – key steps of model development – construction of mechanistic (process-based) and statistical (data-based) models – testing and validation of ecological models – quality analysis, accuracy and precision of ecological models

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

·  Fundamentals of ecological modelling. S.E. Jorgensen te al.; Elsevier

·  Analysing ecological data. Zuur, Ieno, Smith. Springer

Available for download from AulaWeb are copies of the PowerPoint presentations used in class, as well as scientific articles and technical documentation for further exploration of the topics covered.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

LESSONS

LESSONS START

Refer to the detailed schedule at the following link: https://easyacademy.unige.it/portalestudenti/

Please refer to the specific AulaWeb instance for the course for any updates.

Class schedule

The timetable for this course is available here: Portale EasyAcademy

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

The exam will be written and will consist of a series of multiple choice questions and brief essays. Examples of typical problems will be provided in laboratories.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

Instructions and details for exam preparation and knowledge verification will be provided during the course.

The exam, which will be written, will verify the effective acquisition of knowledge by the student about the topics and methodologies addressed during the course and their applications. The problems and essays will allow assessing the student’s capability of applying the acquired knowledge to practical issues. The student will need to be able to link and integrate knowledge acquired during classes and laboratories to propose solutions and approaches for sustainable management.