SBL.20032 - Population and evolutionary dynamics [SP 23]

This course focuses on the ecological and evolutionary dynamics of populations. In the 1st part students will study basic and advanced concepts of population dynamics, including population growth and growth rates, age-structured models (Leslie matrix; Euler-Lotka equation), limiting factors and density-dependence, and demographic principles of life-history evolution. In the 2nd part, students will be introduced to evolutionary dynamics, including replicator dynamics in population genetics, the principles of evolutionary game theory and adaptive dynamics. Students will learn, for example, the key concept of fitness landscapes and how they are defined from the underlying population dynamics. They will then study the evolution of fitness landscapes and, in particular, how selection acts on different evolutionary strategies. The students are expected to have a basic knowledge (BSc level) of ecology, evolutionary biology, and population genetics. This course is given biennially and alternates with Community ecology (SBL.20031).