Ecologia

This is a mostly practical course offering an overview on different community ecology and macroecological methods and software. These will include all steps of a research project, from the optimal sampling of communities to process inference from large-scale patterns of taxon, phylogenetic and functional diversity.

Currently, climate changes or alterations are known to be reflected on the stable isotope ratios of Hydrogen, Nitrogen, Carbon, Oxygen and Sulphur present in atmospheric gas forms, fresh or ocean water, as well as in plants and animals and organic matter in the soil. Samples from those matrices can provide a record for such changes across a given length of time and / or space. Also, ecological and physiological processes often reflect on stable isotope ratios, again setting a record in plant, animal or other living tissues.

Os jardins de uma cidade são muito mais do que apenas uma zona fresca e de lazer. Como contribuem para melhorar a qualidade do ar nas cidades? Como é que a sua vegetação regula a temperatura de uma cidade? Neste evento, de entrada livre, convidamos todos a descobrirem o jardim do Campo Grande com outros olhos e perceber como este e outros espaços verdes da cidade melhoram a nossa qualidade de vida.

Ponto de encontro
Auditório do Caleidoscópio - Centro Académico da Universidade de Lisboa

Por Diana Matos (MARE-UC).

The continuous urban development associated with the growth of the world population has become one of the most important challenges of the present time. Today, cities accommodate more than 54% of the world's population, a proportion that is expected to increase to 70% by 2050. Trends in urbanization show that cities are becoming more complex and heterogeneous social-ecological systems with growing demand for natural resources mainly for infrastructure, housing, food, water, and energy.

Lack of fertile land to feed the exponentially growing population, insufficient water availability and quality, changes in the flow of nutrients through the bio-geo-cycles (especially N and P) and climate and land use changes are impacting ecosystems and their capacity to deliver goods and services for humans. It is striking that all these issues interact around one common resource - SOIL and its biodiversity.

Under the general framework of Global Change Ecology, the goal of this course is to provide the participants with the most recent and practical knowledge on the use of Functional Diversity. This includes the selection of functional traits and calculation of Functional Diversity Indexes. Examples of the application of this knowledge will be given regarding Ecological Indicators and Ecosystem Services.

Date: January 15th, 2018 to January 19th, 2018
Deadline for Applications: December 15th, 2017

A diversidade biológica, em todas as suas formas e níveis de organização, garante importantes serviços ecológicos dos quais, em última instância, depende o bem-estar humano. A Ecologia elucida as intricadas relações entre seres vivos, o meio abiótico que os rodeia, e as funções que desempenham nos ecossistemas, contribuindo assim para informar acerca das consequências que alterações nos equilíbrios da natureza podem ter para a humanidade.