Écologie et biodiversité
Licence 3 ENS Biologie - L3
2025-2026 - Semestre 1
UNBIO1-010 | Ecologie & Biodiversité
6 ECTS
Année et semestre : L3 | S1
Durée : du 15 septembre 2025 au 5 janvier 2026
Coordination : Regis FERRIERE - Marion RICHARDOT, ENS
Credits : 6 ECTS
Type d’enseignement : CM et TD
Mots clés : Écologie des populations et des communautés, biodiversité, écosystèmes, biostatistiques, biologie évolutive
Prérequis pour le cours : BCPST / L2 biologie
The course assumes familiarity with basic ecological concepts of the ’preparatory classes’ curriculum. Students who were not exposed to basic ecology are required to attend the Introduction to Ecology crash course.
Contact instructor Regis Ferriere for registration to the Introduction to Ecology class.
Objectif et description du cours :
Descriptif du cours :
The "Ecology and Biodiversity" module introduces undergraduate students to the basic concepts and different approaches of ecological research. The course covers population ecology and conservation biology, community and ecosystem ecology, biodiversity, and ecological interactions. The topics are covered in the form of traditional lectures and illustrated with numerous examples. Practical methods are taught in the complementary course Experimental Ecology usually offered in the Spring semester.
External students can attend and credit the class by prior arrangement with the primary instructor. Please see contact information below. External students with attendance confirmed by primary instructor should register here at least one week before the start date of the class.
Maximum class size is 50 students.
The class is taught in French with resources (slides, hand-outs, readings) in English.
Course material and announcements will be posted on Moodle.
Key references used in lectures will be listed and posted on Moodle.
Objectifs pédagogiques et compétences développées :
• Understand the origin and development of ideas in ecology, and connect this progress with major scientific advances from the 19th century to the current days.
• Define and relate the concepts of population, community, ecosystem.
• Identify relevant systems and scales to address ecological questions.
• Form hypotheses to explain ecological patterns, from populations to communities to ecosystems.
• Develop quantitative thinking about ecological systems and processes.
• Design experimental protocols and modeling frameworks to test predictions derived from ecological hypotheses.
• Mobilize diverse sources of data (organisms samples, molecular data, environmental data) to address ecological questions pertaining to population dynamics, community assembly and diversity, and ecosystem function.
• Map cutting-edge research questions in ecology and relate them to fundamental knowledge about populations, communities, ecosystems.
• Relate fundamental properties of ecological systems to human-valued environmental processes.
• Translate practical ecological problems (such as the conservation of ecosystem services) in terms that are amenable to rigorous ecological research.
Évaluation : Evaluation is based on a final exam, scheduled on January 12, 2026, from 10am to 12pm.
Please contact the primary instructor if you need special accommodation.
Support de cours : Voir le moodle après inscription
Lectures obligatoires et suggérées :
Lectures obligatoires :
Short articles or excerpts may be provided for reading and discussion in class.
Lectures recommandées :
No specific textbook is assigned to the class. However, the following texts provide useful resources for different parts of the class :
• Bolker 2007 : Ecological models and data in R. Princeton University Press.
• Henderson 2003 : Practical Methods in Ecology. Blackwell Publishing.
• Mittelbach & McGill 2019 : Community Ecology. Oxford University Press.
• Rockwood 2015 : Introduction to Population Ecology. Wiley Blackwell.
• Selosse 2000 : La Symbiose. Structures et Fonctions, Rôle Ecologique et Evolutif. Vuibert.
