Origins of Biodiversity - MB162QW02

• Title: Origins of Biodiversity
• Czech title: Vznik biodiverzity
• Guaranteed by: Department of Ecology (31-162)
• Faculty: Faculty of Science
• Actual: from 2025
• Semester: winter
• E-Credits: 6
• Examination process: winter s.:
• Hours per week, examination: winter s.:10/5, Ex [DS]
• Capacity: unlimited
• Min. number of students: unlimited
• 4EU+: no
• Virtual mobility / capacity: no
• State of the course: not taught
• Language: English
• Explanation: Subject of the 1st semester of QuBiDTo be taught at University of Warsaw
• Guarantor: Sergi Lopez-Torres, Ph.D.

Annotation

An introduction to the theory and methods of macroevolution and macroecology. Making use of the latest textbooks and case studies, the course takes an enquiry-led approach to explore large-scale patterns in evolution and the distribution of biodiversity across time, space and lineages. This perspective will be enhanced by practicals, where the students will learn crucial methods to analyze biodiversity, quantify evolutionary, phylogenetic and ecological patterns and test their potential drivers, as well as deal with measurement, collection, sampling biases. Applied quantitative methods will include ancestral state reconstruction, reconstructing diversity dynamics (origination and extinction rates), disparity analysis, Bayesian divergence time estimation, generalized linear models, ordination analysis, comparative phylogenetic methods, and rarefaction.

Course coordinator: Kenneth De Baets

Last update: Gáliková Kristýna, Mgr. et Mgr., DiS. (21.11.2025)