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Population and Community Ecology RENR 8001

Renewable Resources Part-time Studies Course

Course details

Population ecology is concerned with the structure and dynamics of populations. Community ecology is concerned with the interactions of populations with each other and their abiotic environment. Both are crucial for understanding ecosystems and to provide a scientific basis for ecological restoration projects. The course covers population and community-level ecology for terrestrial and aquatic plants and animals that are pertinent to ecological restoration. Topics include the concept of individual fitness, individual behaviour, population dynamics, competition within and among species, predation, parasitism, symbiosis and trophic processes. The use of appropriate sampling methods and application of theories of population and community dynamics are practiced and discussed, using a variety of case studies. Field sessions outside of scheduled class time will be required.

Prerequisite(s)

  • Acceptance into the Ecological Restoration degree program or by departmental approval.

Credits

3.0

Cost

$832.85

Course offerings

Winter 2023

Below is one offering of RENR 8001 for the Winter 2023 term.

CRN 77502

Duration

Wed Jan 04 - Wed Apr 19 (15 weeks)

  • 15 weeks
  • CRN 77502
  • $832.85
Class meeting times
Dates Days Times Locations
Jan 04 - Apr 19 Wed 13:00 - 16:00 Burnaby NE23 Rm. 101
Instructor

TBD

Course outline

Course outline TBD — see Learning Outcomes in the interim.

Cost

$832.85

Important information
  1. Departmental approval needed
  2. This course is reserved for Ecological Restoration program. students require department approval prior to registration. For registration please contact Giti Abouhamzeh at giti_abouhamzeh@bcit.ca or call 778-331-1392.
Status

Sneak Preview

This section is only available for registration starting Wed October 26, 2022 at 9:00 am (PDT)

Learning Outcomes

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

  • Assess how biotic and abiotic factors affect community and landscape diversity.
  • Explain how interactions among species affect populations and species distribution.
  • Evaluate factors that affect population growth and how they differ among various kinds of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.
  • Analyze how interactions between species affect population growth and species distribution.
  • Apply various population growth models to real populations.
  • Compare and contrast organism life histories, such as generalists vs. specialists and r vs. k selection.
  • Apply the concept of niche to competition.
  • Explain the concept of keystone species and how it relates to biodiversity conservation.
  • Apply a variety of techniques for sampling in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.
  • Explain how theories such as autogenic and allogenic succession, community assembly theory and other aspects of disturbance ecology relate to ecological restoration practices.

Effective as of Fall 2009

Related Programs

Population and Community Ecology (RENR 8001) is offered as a part of the following programs:

School of Construction and the Environment

  1. Ecological Restoration
    Bachelor of Science Full-time/Part-time

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