Fundamentals of Ecology

By Prof.Vishwesha Guttal, Prof. Kavita Isvaran, Prof. Kartik Shanker, Prof. Umesh Srinivasan, Prof. Maria Thaker, Prof. Saskya van Nouhuys | IISc Bangalore

Learners enrolled: 1746 | Exam registration: 107

ABOUT THE COURSE:

Ecology is the foundation of understanding patterns and processes in the natural world. This course aims to provide a comprehensive foundation in ecology. It covers a wide range of topics from individuals to ecosystems, including resource use and life history, population ecology, community ecology, biogeography and macroecology, ecosystems and biogeochemistry, and ecology in the anthropocene. Undergraduate and post-graduate students of any discipline will benefit from this exposure to the science of ecology. Faculty can take this as a professional development course.

The course includes 2-3 hours of weekly content, divided into 5-6 lectures, accompanied by an ineractive live session with the faculty. Additionally, students will be required to complete a short assignment every week.

INTENDED AUDIENCE: This is an academic course intended for senior undergraduate and post-graduate students in any discipline; and faculty. However, it is also open to interested members of the public.

PREREQUISITES: Participants should have completed at least the first year of an undergraduate degree.

INDUSTRY SUPPORT: Industries that will value this course include:

1. Agriculture

2. Forestry

3. Wildlife and biodiversity conservation

4. Sustainability divisions of any industry

Summary

Course Status :	Upcoming
Course Type :	Elective
Language for course content :	English
Duration :	12 weeks
Category :	Multidisciplinary
Credit Points :	3
Level :	Undergraduate/Postgraduate
Start Date :	20 Jan 2025
End Date :	11 Apr 2025
Enrollment Ends :	27 Jan 2025
Exam Registration Ends :	14 Feb 2025
Exam Date :	04 May 2025 IST

Note: This exam date is subject to change based on seat availability. You can check final exam date on your hall ticket.

Page Visits

Course layout

Week 1: Introduction, Sensory Ecology, and Resource Acquisition

Week 2: Movement, Anti-predator and Social Behaviours

Week 3: Population Growth and Dynamics

Week 4: Population Dynamics and Spatial Structure

Week 5: Study Design and Quantitative Thinking

Week 6: Community Ecology: Introduction, Niche and Community Assembly

Week 7: Community Ecology: Species Interactions

Week 8: Community Ecology: Food webs and Species Invasion

Week 9: Community Ecology: Species Diversity and its Estimation

Week 10: Community Ecology: Macroecology and Biogeography

Week 11: Ecosystems and Bio-geochemical Cycles

Week 12: Anthropogenic Environmental Changes & Synthesis of the course

Books and references

Gotelli, N.J., 1995. A Primer of Ecology. Oxford University Press.
Mittelbach, G.G. and McGill, B.J., 2019. Community Ecology. Oxford University Press.
Ricklefs, R.E. and Miller, G. L. 2000. Ecology, 4th edition. W.H. Freeman and Company

Instructor bio

Prof.Vishwesha Guttal

IISc Bangalore

Vishwesha Guttal is a theoretical ecologist at the Centre for Ecological Sciences at the Indian Institute of Science in Bengaluru. He studies self organisation, emergent patterns and spatiotemporal dynamics in organisms and the environment. Using statistical and mathematical models,coupled with empirical data, he is interested in understanding movement patterns of animal groups, as well as spatial patterns of vegetation and their potential tipping points

Prof. Kavita Isvaran

Kavita Isvaran is a behavioural ecologist at the Centre for Ecological Sciences at the Indian Institute of Science in Bengaluru. She is fascinated by the wide diversity in animal behaviour and life histories in the natural world and studies their ecology and evolution. She is also interested in the links between individual behaviour and populations, and in applying behavioural ecological principles towards conservation questions.

Prof. Kartik Shanker

Kartik Shanker is an evolutionary ecologist at the Centre for Ecological Sciences at the Indian Institute of Science in Bengaluru. He works on the biogeography and macroecology of frogs, reptiles, birds, plants and marine fauna. He also works on the behaviour and evolution of grouping, particularly mixed species foraging groups of birds and fish. He has established long-term monitoring programmes for sea turtles, sharks and rays along the Indian coast

Prof. Umesh Srinivasan

Umesh Srinivasan is based at the Centre for Ecological Sciences at the Indian Institute of Science. Umesh studies how climate change and forest degradation affect the population dynamics of forest birds in the Eastern Himalayas of Arunachal Pradesh, and is also involved in a community-based conservation project to protect the critically endangered Bugun liocichla.

Prof. Maria Thaker

Maria Thaker is a behavioral ecologist at the Centre for Ecological Sciences at the Indian Institute of Science in Bengaluru. She studies the way morphology, physiology and behaviour integrate to form phenotypic trait complexes that vary across species and contexts. She is particularly interested in the effects of anthropogenic changes, such as urbanisation and climate change, and how they influence animal responses and their strategies for adaptation.

Prof. Saskya van Nouhuys

Saskya van Nouhuys is an ecologist at the Centre for Ecological Sciences at the Indian Institute of Science in Bengaluru. She is especially interested in the roles of species interactions in the dynamics of populations and communities; multitrophic interactions between plants, herbivorous insects and their parasitoids; and the ecological process of species invasions

Course certificate

The course is free to enroll and learn from. But if you want a certificate, you have to register and write the proctored exam conducted by us in person at any of the designated exam centres.

The exam is optional for a fee of Rs 1000/- (Rupees one thousand only).

Date and Time of Exams:May 4, 2025 Morning session 9am to 12 noon; Afternoon Session 2pm to 5pm.

Registration url: Announcements will be made when the registration form is open for registrations.

The online registration form has to be filled and the certification exam fee needs to be paid. More details will be made available when the exam registration form is published. If there are any changes, it will be mentioned then.

Please check the form for more details on the cities where the exams will be held, the conditions you agree to when you fill the form etc.

CRITERIA TO GET A CERTIFICATE

Average assignment score = 25% of average of best 8 assignments out of the total 12 assignments given in the course.
Exam score = 75% of the proctored certification exam score out of 100

Final score = Average assignment score + Exam score

Please note that assignments encompass all types (including quizzes, programming tasks, and essay submissions) available in the specific week.

YOU WILL BE ELIGIBLE FOR A CERTIFICATE ONLY IF AVERAGE ASSIGNMENT SCORE >=10/25 AND EXAM SCORE >= 30/75. If one of the 2 criteria is not met, you will not get the certificate even if the Final score >= 40/100.

Certificate will have your name, photograph and the score in the final exam with the breakup.It will have the logos of NPTEL and IISc Bangalore .It will be e-verifiable at nptel.ac.in/noc.

Only the e-certificate will be made available. Hard copies will not be dispatched.

Once again, thanks for your interest in our online courses and certification. Happy learning.

- NPTEL team