Oecology

Dr. Tibor Kalapos, Department of Plant Taxonomy and Ecology, Institute of Biology, Faculty of Science, Loránd Eötvös University

The purpose of this lecture is to give a basic level knowledge in general ecology. First, students are introduced into the fundamentals of the science of ecology including the broad fields of organism – environment interactions, population ecology, interactions between populations, organization of ecological communities, and the structure and functioning of ecosystems and the biosphere. Then, topical applied issues are covered including the biodiversity crisis, global warming, invasive species, disturbance, habitat loss and nature conservation. With this knowledge students will be aware of the main rules governing the existence of communities of organisms (animals, plants, fungi etc.) and their interaction with the environment, and thus will be better prepared deal with environmental issues in their future practice.