Summer Semester Courses 2012

From EESwiki

Summer semester dates

Official dates of instruction for weekly courses: April 16, 2012 - July 20, 2012

Block I: April 16 - May 11
Block II: May 14 - June 8
Block III: June 11 - June 29
Block IV: July 2 - July 20

"Vorlesungsverzeichnis"

The summer semester schedule with detailed times and locations is not yet available. It should be available by February 2012.

Once the online course catalog for "SoSe 2012" - this will be visible in the top right-hand corner of the site - is available, you can browse EES courses by navigating to "Vorlesungsverzeichnis" - "Fakultät für Biologie" - "Veranstaltungen der Fakultät" - "Master's Program in Evolution, Ecology, and Systematics"

Within the 2nd and 4th semester, the elective courses are listed under the Blocks I to IV, as well as under "elective courses". The required courses are listed under Module P6 and P7.

Required courses for 2nd semester students

MEME students: the EES required courses can also be taken. Please note, that the IRT2 is an individual research project, which you will also be carrying out but with a maximum of 15 ECTS. For the other required courses, please be aware of the fact that you MUST sign up for them with the coordinator, so that potential parallel courses can be planned to accommodate all students. For the EES excursion we can allow a maximum of 25 students – we already have 18 EES students (they are required to go on the excursion), so we can take a maximum of 7 MEME students.

Individual Research Training 2 (IRT2)
- Schedule: all semester
- ECTS: 5
- Module: P6.1

Students conduct a semester-long independent research project in a lab of their choice. The IRT2 module must be carried out in a different lab from the IRT1. Projects will usually be suggested by the lab advisor, but should be developed further by the student. Once they identify a topic, students research relevant background literature and write a research plan that they discuss with various people in the lab. They then conduct the study, write a final report in the style of a scientific manuscript (10,000 – 30,000 characters), and prepare a poster (as part of the Skills 3 course – see this entry for details).

Skills 3: Poster & Discussion
- Instructors: Wolinska, Edler
- Times & Dates: not yet set
- ECTS: 1
- Module: P6.2

Students learn how to make a poster using standard software. With the skills they learn in this seminar, they prepare a poster about their IRT2 research project, which they present at the annual EES Conference in October.

Seminar & Discussion 2: Global Change
- Instructors: Wolinska, N.N.
- Schedule: all semester
- Times: Mondays, 15:15 - 16:45
- ECTS: 3
- Module: P6.3

Students read and discuss scientific publications on classical themes of Evolution, Ecology, and Systematics. They prepare presentations in different formats and lead discussions on selected scientific studies, which are chosen by the instructors.

EES Excursion
- Instructors: Stibor, Witte, Wolinska
- Dates: 04.06 - 08.06.2012
- Times: all day
- ECTS: 3
- Module: P7.1/2

Scope of the EES excursion is to learn about the biodiversity and ecology of typical German habitats. The exact programme of what we will be doing and where we will be going is currently being worked on.

Statistics
- Instructors: Metzler
- Dates: all semester
- Times: Monday, 13:15 - 15:00 & Thursday, 17:30 - 18:15
- ECTS: 3
- Module: P7.3/4

This course consists of both lectures and exercises. The lectures will provide the students with an overview of the most important topics in statistics for biologists. Topics include applied statistical testing, analysis of variance, regression and likelihood methods, and analysis of variance (ANOVA). In June, students will go on a field trip (see “Excursion”), where they will collect and analyze field data. During the “exercises” portion of the course, students will apply the knowledge they have gathered during the lectures and field trip, and become familiar with statistics software programs (e.g. R and SPSS).

Elective courses for 2nd and 4th semester students

No set dates, please contact instructor or attend preliminary meeting

Spermatophytes
- Instructor: Gottschling
- ECTS: 9

Registration by 15.04.2012 under email address given below. Preliminary meeting on 16.04.2012 at 17:00 in C00.013. Please also contact instructor (gottschling@biologie.uni-muenchen.de) in order to find out if this module will be conducted in English or German.

Excavation Practical
- Instructor: Grupe
- ECTS: 3

Students will learn how to detect and excavate archaeological human skeletons, including in situ diagnoses. By appointment! Please contact g.grupe@lrz.uni-muenchen.de

Before Block I

Evolutionary Ecology Modelling
- Instructor: Gabriel
- Dates: 22.03 - 13.04.2012, plus one extra block of your choice
- Times: 09:00 - 17:00 (daily)
- ECTS: 6

This course, which consists of both lectures and exercises, will provide an overview of models and modelling approaches. During the lectures, students learn about various population growth models, different population interactions, simple quantitative and population genetics, and stochastic processes. The theory is applied to an example such as the evolution of pesticide resistance. Students learn methods such as time continuous models, time discrete models, individual-based models, and modelling of stochastic processes. During the exercises, students will analyze and apply different modelling approaches. They will be trained to outline, develop, and run a model using programming tools. Please note: when signing up for the course, students must select another block in which to complete their independent modelling project.

Please contact instructor (Wilfried.Gabriel@lrz.uni-muenchen.de) to sign up for this course!

Block I

Microscopic Anatomy and Histology of Vertebrates
- Instructor: Starck
- Days: Wednesday - Friday, 10:00 - 16:00
- ECTS: 3

Introduction to Satellite Remote Sensing and GIS
- Instructor: Siegert
- Dates: 30.04 - 11.05.2012, 09:00 - 18:00 Please note that the dates have changed!!!
- ECTS: 3

The aim of this course is to provide a first insight into the potential of satellite remote sensing and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) in the field of environmental monitoring. In the first part of the course we will give an introduction into various methods of image processing (using ERDAS IMAGINE). Satellite images will be analyzed for environmental impacts such as land cover change, deforestation and the impacts of fire and storm on ecosystems. The second part will give an introduction into GIS (using ARCGIS) and its basic functions for spatial analysis and cartography.

Please contact instructor (siegert@rssgmbh.de) to sign up for this course!

Basic Evolutionary Genomics
- Instructor: Parsch
- Times: 12:00 - 14:00
- ECTS: 3

This block course will consist of lectures and exercises that provide an introduction to the field of genomics, with emphasis on methods and evolutionary applications. Topics include: genome sequencing and annotation, bacterial genomes, eukaryotic genomes, transcriptomics, interactomics, proteomics, metabolomics.

Principles of Behavioural Ecology
- Instructors: Goymann, Kempenaers, Witte
- Days and times (lecture): Monday, Wednesday, Friday from 15:00 - 17:00
- Days and times (tutorial): Thursday, 16:00 - 17:00
- ECTS: 3

In this lecture- and seminar-based module we give a thorough introduction into the field of behavioural ecology. We cover the following subjects: mechanisms of behaviour, communication, sexual selection, mating systems and parental care, life history, altruism and cooperation, cooperative breeding in birds and mammals, eusocial insects, habitat choice and migration and human behavioural ecology. The class is taught by behavioural ecologists working on birds and eusocial insects, so that different perspectives allow a comprehensive overview of this field. Lectures will cover the history of behavioural ecology; mechanisms of behaviour; visual, acoustic and chemical communication; mating systems; parental care; life history; cooperation; socio-biology; orientation; and human behavioural ecology. Tutorials will include discussions of the scientific content of lectures, reading of relevant literature, working on questions, and presentations by students.

The lecture is a prerequisite for the practical “Experimental Behavioural Ecology” (Block IV); preliminary discussion and obligatory sign-up for the practical is on the first day of the lecture.

Block II

Population Genetics I (lecture)
- Instructor: Stephan, Hutter
- Times: Tuesday - Friday, 12:30 - 14:00
- ECTS: 6

Please note that Pop. Gen. I spans TWO blocks!

This block course consists of both lectures and computer exercises. The lecture spans two blocks, and the computer course takes place during the last three weeks. The lecture provides insight into general principles of population genetics. Topics of discussion include forces like genetic drift, natural selection, migration and genetic mechanisms such as mutation and recombination. Specific examples will be used to show how the mechanisms affect genetic variability in plants and animals (including humans). Topics include Introduction (Genetic variability, Hardy-Weinberg Law, classic models of natural selection), Neutral theory of molecular evolution (genetic drift, mutation, recombination, effective population size, coalescent), QTL analysis, Special applications (human evolution, genome projects, uncovering disease genes using DNA polymorphism) and many more.

The aim of the computer course is to gain a better and more in-depth understanding of the topics introduced in the lecture. Modelling and analysis software will be used to visualize population genetic principles and exemplify the impact of different evolutionary forces on genetic variability. Amongst others, the course will focus on DNA polymorphism, effective population size, inbreeding and structured populations, various forms of selection, selection and polymorphism and neutrality tests.

Both lecture and practical must be taken. Please register with hutter@zi.biologie.uni-muenchen.de

Mycology: Diversity and Evolution of Fungi
- Instructor: Agerer
- Times: variable
- ECTS: 3

The students will learn that fungal organisms occur in different eukaryotic kingdoms and the reasons for their affiliations to these kingdoms, and will be able to distinguish between those characters useful for delimitation of relationships and those with adaptive values developed in parallel in different relationships. “Evolutionary tendencies” and key-innovations will be discussed, and it will be highlighted that substrate specialization and co-evolution with plants promote evolution of fungi. The importance of ultrastructural, chemical, anatomical, ecological, and DNA-sequence-data for phylogenetic reconstructions will be critically discussed.

Block III

Population Genetics I (practical)
- Instructors: Hutter, Stephan
- Times: variable
- ECTS: 6

Marine Biology (seminar and excursion)
- Instructors: Haszprunar, Heß
- Dates: 18.06 - 28.06.2012
- ECTS: 6

Preliminary meeting on 17.04.2012 at 12:00 in room C00.015.

Block IV

Multivariate Statistics in Ecology & Quantitative Genetics
- Instructor: Metzler
- Times (lecture): 09:00 - 11:00
- Times (practical): 13:00 - 18:00
- ECTS: 3

Students must take both the lecture and the practical. Please register under metzler@bio.lmu.de

Experimental Behavioural Ecology
- Instructors: Forstmeier, Goymann, Witte
- Times: Wednesday - Friday, 09:00 - 16:00
- ECTS: 3

Experimental research with animals (birds, humans, fish, insects) to address questions about sexual selection, communication, orientation, and socio-biology. This lab course gives hands-on experience in diverse experiments in behavioural ecology. Short lectures introduce the scientific background to the experiments. Experiments cover a wide range of subjects and study organisms: Sexual selection in guppies (fish), nest-mate recognition, division of labour and communication in ants, mate choice in humans and birds. Students are guided to develop their own experiments from the experimental design to the statistical analysis.

The lecture “Principles of Behavioural Ecology” is a prerequisite for this practical! Obligatory sign-up on the first day of the lecture.

Soil Mycomicrobiology
- Instructor: Agerer
- Times: week of 02.07 is lecture only (09:00 - 11:00), the following weeks are practical (from 09:00 onwards)
- ECTS: 3

This course consists of both lectures and a practical. Lectures will cover different topics in soil mycomicrobiology, including fine root systems, determination of microbial biomass, physiological activity (enzyme tests of soil), patterns of substrate utilization, soil fungi, hyphal amounts in root horizons, ecological characterization of ectomycorrhizae, interactions between Nematodes and fungi, litter decomposition in the soil, and bacterial populations in the soil. Students will learn about the complexity of agriculturally- and silviculturally-used soils and of their microflora.

Compulsory registration under reinhard.agerer@bio.lmu.de

Archaeometry (lecture & practical)
- Instructor: Grupe
- Times: Wednesdays - Fridays, 09:30 - 18:00
- ECTS: 3

In the lecture, students will learn how to decipher the determining factors responsible for the evolution and development of human populations through time and space, based upon the recognition of indices provided by the molecular and crystalline composition of archaeological and forensic finds. Methods which are routinely applied to modern tissues are adapted for the application to archaeological/forensic tissues. A discussion of the relevant parameters including nutrition, economic endeavours, migration analysis, genealogical relationships and aspects specific to environmental conditions (e.g. climate reconstruction) is intended.

The practical portion of the course involves the extraction of the various biological components from bone finds (DNA, collagen, structural carbonate, apatite), as well as the complementary interpretation of the data won during the different procedures, and also the identification of decomposition artefacts. Analysis of preserved DNA, stable isotopes of light and heavy elements, x-ray imaging.

Advanced Evolutionary Genomics
- Instructor: Parsch
- Times: 12:00 - 13:30

This block course will consist of lectures and exercises that cover advanced topics in evolutionary genomics, including: comparative genomics, evolution of genome size, gene and genome duplication, origin of new genes, isochores and GC content, codon bias, evolution of sex-biased genes, evolutionary functional genomics.

Please sign up with parsch@zi.biologie.uni-muenchen.de

Block V

Aquatic Ecology (mini Block)
- Instructor: Stibor
- Times and Dates: contact instructor (stibor@zi.biologie.uni-muenchen.de)
- ECTS: 1.5

Microarray Analysis in Evolution
- Instructor: Parsch
- Times: contact instructor (parsch@zi.biologie.uni-muenchen.de)
- ECTS: 3

This block course will mainly be held in the form of a seminar, with students presenting and discussing papers from the current literature in the field of evolutionary transcriptomics. There will also be introductory lectures by the instructor, presentations of transcriptomics-related research projects, and a practical demonstration of microarray equipment.