Section 1: Ecology
Fundamental concepts: Abiotic and biotic components
scales (population, species, community, ecosystems, biomes)
niches and habitats.
Population ecology: Population growth rates (density dependent/independent)
metapopulation ecology (colonization, persistence, extinction, patches, sources, sinks)
age-structured populations.
Interactions: Types (mutualism, symbiosis, commensalism, competition, parasitism, predation, etc)
ecophysiology (physiological adaptations to abiotic environment)
prey-predator interactions (Lotka-Voltera equation etc)
Community ecology: Community assembly, organization and succession
species richness, evenness and diversity indices, species-area relationships
theory of island biogeography Ecosystems structure and function: trophic levels and their interactions
nutrient cycles
primary and secondary productivity
Section 3: Mathematics and Quantitative Ecology
Mathematics and statistics in ecology: Simple functions (linear, quadratic, exponential, logarithmic, etc)
concept of derivatives and slope of a function
permutations and combinations
basic probability (probability of random events
sequences of events, etc)
frequency distributions and their descriptive statistics (mean, variance, coefficient of variation, correlation, etc).
Statistical hypothesis testing: Concept of p-value
Type I and Type II error, test statistics like t-test and Chi-square test
basics of linear regression and ANOVA.
Section 4: Behavioural Ecology
Classical Ethology: Instinct
fixed action patters
imprinting
learnt behavior
proximate and ultimate questions
Sensory ecology: Neuroethology
communication (chemical, acoustic and visual signaling)
recognition systems
Foraging ecology: Foraging behaviour
optimal foraging theory
Reproduction: Cost of sex
sexual dimorphism
mate choice
sexual selection (runaway selection, good-genes, handicap principle, etc)
sexual conflict
mating systems
parental care.
Social living: Costs and benefits of group-living (including responses to predators)
effect of competition (scramble and contest) on group formation
dominance relationships
eusociality
kin selection
altruism
reciprocity
human behaviour
Section 2: Evolution
History of Evolutionary thought: Lamarckism
Darwinism
Modern Synthesis
Fundamentals: Variation
heritability
natural selection
fitness and adaptation
types of selection (stabilizing, directional, disruptive)
Diversity of life: Origin and history of life on earth
diversity and classification of life
systems of classification (cladistics and phenetics)
Life history strategies: Allocation of resources
tradeoffs
r/K selection
semelparity and iteroparity
Interactions: Co-evolution (co-adaptations, arms race, Red Queen hypothesis, co-speciation)
prey-predator interactions (mimicry, crypsis, etc)
Population and Quantitative genetics: Origins of genetic variation
Mendelian genetics
HardyWeinberg equilibrium
drift; selection (one-locus two-alleles model)
population genetic structure (panmixia, gene flow, FST)
polygenic traits
gene-environment interactions (phenotypic plasticity)
heritability
Molecular evolution and phylogenetics: Neutral theory
molecular clocks
rates of evolution
phylogenetic reconstruction
molecular systematics
Macroevolution: Species concepts and speciation
adaptive radiation
convergence
biogeography
Section 5: Applied Ecology & Evolution
Biodiversity and conservation: Importance of conserving biodiversity
ecosystem services
threats to biodiversity
invasive species
in-situ conservation (endemism, biodiversity hotspots, protected areas)
ex-situ conservation
conservation genetics (genetic diversity, inbreeding depression)
DNA fingerprinting and DNA barcoding
Disease ecology and evolution:
Epidemiology
zoonotic diseases
antibiotic resistance
vector Control Plant and animal breeding: Marker assisted breeding
genetic basis of economically important traits
Global climate change:Causes
consequences
mitigation
