Theoretical Perspectives on Biodiversity and Biogeography

Biogeography gives the framework to describe life on Earth. The diversity of life on Earth (biodiversity) exhibits spatial and temporal patterns that beg for theoretical models for their description. This five-day course reviews several theoretical approaches describing patterns of species richness and species abundance. We will give emphasis to the development and careful interpretation of the mathematical formulae and their relationship with the biological phenomena they describe. The objective of this course is to make its participants familiar with theoretical approaches in ecology, being able to understand their foundations and rationales, as well as their limitations, and whenever possible demystify the use of mathematics in ecology. After this course we hope the attendants would be gain a new appreciation for the role of theoretical models in ecology, with a view to being able to follow recent advancements in and contribute to theoretical ecology.