Petr Keil, Florencia Grattarola & Francois Leroy
All materials and lectures can be found in the course repository on GitHub.
This is an introduction to geographical patterns of species distributions and biodiversity, and their connections to applied ecological and conservation problems. It focuses on biological phenomena at large geographic resolutions (ca. 1km2 or coarser) or large geographic extents (continents, Earth). It also introduces major theories and models that explain or predict these geographic patterns. Practical parts are done mostly in R, and they aim to introduce data types, and quantitative methods used in macroecology. The course blends elements of biogeography, ecology, and spatial data analysis. Among others, the course is aimed at species distribution modellers, physical geographers, conservationists, and policy makers who will benefit from a “big picture” perspective not provided by traditional ecology, nor by physical geography.