Venue: University of Fribourg

Workshop in collaboration with the CUSO Doctoral Program in Ecology & Evolution and the University of Fribourg

Organizers: Yan Sun, Sarah Bouchemousse and Heinz Müller-Schärer (University of Fribourg)

Flyer

Website of the event

The course is aimed at students with a general interest in ecological and evolutionary aspects of species interactions, demography and species distributions relevant both for basic science as well as for applied fields such as pest management and conservation ecology. Participants will also have the opportunity to present their work in a 20 min. talk or as a poster.

The workshop will be structured into different sessions and a final wrap-up composed of a discussion in small groups and a summary by an invited expert.

• Stephen Keller, University of Vermont, US
• John Maron, University of Montana, US
• Antoine Guisan, University of Lausanne
• Jake Alexander, University of Lausanne
• Elizabeth Crone, Tufts University, US
• Marjo Saastamoinen, University of Helsinki, Finland
• Tobias Züst, University of Bern

The factors that determine the rates of population increase or decline and the differential contributions from individuals are central to the demography and evolution in natural populations. Besides abiotic factors, such changes are driven by species interactions. Scaling up to predicting species distributions is an especially challenging task, as abiotic tolerances, dispersal capacity and biotic interactions each vary in time and space.

The workshop will explore the most recent advances towards predicting the spread of species using a mechanistic approach. For this we will bring together knowledge on linking outcomes of ecological species interactions with demography and evolutionary dynamics and ranging from genomics to modelling tools to better understand and predict future spread of species. This becomes more complex when environments are changing, such as in the face of climate change or in novel environments in the case of biological invasions and biological control. Understanding such outcomes of species interactions is relevant both for basic science, but also for its application to pest species in agriculture, invasion biology and for conservation issues.

We have invited a number of well-known experts that will each give a lecture of 45 min followed by a discussion with the students. Students will also have the opportunity to present their work in short talks and posters. We also plan round-table discussions in small groups, moderated by the experts, on focussed the workshop topics (approaches, controversies, theory).

The settings we want to explore are rather novel ones for the focal species, ranging from colonisation and invasion processes, assisted migration and biological control up to global change including altered land use and climate change. All contributions should include an ecological and an evolutionary component.

Booklet of the event (PDF)

Date: 13-14 September 2018

Schedule: 8.55-17.00

Venue:  University of Fribourg, room 0.110, Route Albert Gockel 3, 1700 Fribourg

ECTS: 1.0 or 1.5 with poster/oral presentation (Scientific activities)

Evaluation: Full attendance and active participation

Information: see the CUSO E&E webpage, or the official EE event webpage or please contact the doctoral program coordinator Sara Santi (administration)

Registration fee: 25.- CHF for collective lunches and coffee breaks are requested at the moment of the registration to the participants of the Interuniversity doctoral program in organismal biology (DP-biol). Other participants: please see CUSO E&E website

Meals: External meals are not reimbursed. Collective lunches are part of the activity.

Accomodation: No accommodation reimbursement

Travel expenses: For participants of the Interuniversity doctoral program in organismal biology (DP-biol ): see reimbursement conditions. For participants of the CUSO doctoral program in Ecology and Evolution: see CUSO E&E website

Make sure that you sign the attendance list each and every day and take your certificate of attendance at the end of the course (no attestation will be sent by mail).