Networks in ecology encompasses almost anything that can be represented by a set of points joined by edges. For example, a food web represents the feeding relationships within a community, which underpins the structure of material and energy flows among organisms and, in turn, fosters biodiversity and ecological functions. This course consists of weekly two?hour lectures, covering fundamental concepts about ecological networks of various forms, as well as the relevant theories, quantitative and simulative techniques, implications, and applications. While the emphasis is on general concepts, case studies will also be introduced and discussed, supplemented with recent key studies.

From the course, students are expected to comprehend fundamental concepts in Network Ecology, as well as relevant empirical and theoretical research methods. In particular, they should learn the ways of doing simple network analysis, making interpretation of network properties at different levels of organisation, and become familiar with contextualising recent publications in the field.

Students should have taken General Biology and Ecology (both required). Possessing basic calculus and/or linear algebra understanding will be an advantage for comprehending this course, as the course covers some fundamental mathematics of network dynamics.

The content of weekly lectures is based on a synthesis of several textbooks: ? Food Webs: Integration of Patterns and Dynamics. Gary A. Polis and Kirk O. Winemiller. 1996. ? Ecological Networks: Linking Structure to Dynamics in Food Webs. Mercedes Pascual and Jennifer A. Dunne. 2005. ? Food Webs. Kevin McCann. 2011. ? Quantitative Analysis of Ecological Networks. Mark R. T. Dale and Marie-Josee Fortin. 2021. Buying textbooks is not mandatory, as all needed contents will be covered in slides and shared with students.