Theoretical lectures

Field of study: Elective area, sub-area Topics 1 and 2, module group 1, Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology
ECTS: 10
Content: Insects in a changing environment: Changing environments impact all organisms on earth. The environment affects neurobiology, behaviour, and navigation. Animals make use of endogenous clocks to predict and adapt to daily or seasonal changes of the environment. Environmental changes, which are often man-made, like climate change, affect the individual behaviour, biotic interactions, the distribution of species, species communities, and chemical and evolutionary adaptations.

Field of study: Elective area, sub-area Topics 1 and 2, module group 1, Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology
ECTS: 10
Content: In the lecture an overview is given of theoretical basics and current issues in animal ecology. Thematic focal points are biodiversity and ecosystem functions, multitrophic interactions and food webs, evolutionary ecology, chemical ecology, tropical ecology, agroecology and global change. In the seminar current scientific publications on the above topics will be presented and discussed.

Field of study: Elective area, sub-area Topics 1 and 2, module group 1, Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology
ECTS: 10
Content: The lecture provides insights into basic principles in ecology with particular focus on the biology of tropical habitats including tropical biocenosis. Special attention is given to the global importance of tropical systems (“ecosystem goods” and “ecosystem services”) as well as to biological specialties and aspects of particular adaption in these highly diverse biomes. In the seminar the students learn to perform problem based scientific literature research, to present recent publications and to critically discuss these new findings.