Hands on Functional Diversity: from Ecological Indicators to Ecosystem Services 2025-2026 - COMPLETED -

Objectives

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.

The specific objectives are:

• To give a general overview on global change drivers and point out the needs of current and future studies on Ecology;
• To synthesize the most useful methods and tools for Ecosystem Services assessment, focusing on Ecological Indicators;
• To allow the participants to apply the acquired knowledge on case study data (participants’ data or data provided by the organizers), using R software. Examples of calculation with other software will also be provided (e.g. PC-ORD).

Participants must be present at 85% of the contact hours (meaning they can miss one half-day) and actively participate in all activities.

This course may have a correspondence in terms of credits toward PhD programmes at CIÊNCIAS or programmes jointly offered by CIÊNCIAS and partner institutions, with 6–7 hours of contact time per ECT, depending on specific requirements. For these students, in addition to the exercises completed during the week, submission of a written report two weeks after the course is mandatory. For programmes with fewer contact hours per ECT (6h/ECT), students must complete an additional assignment (a summary report). If necessary, 1 or 2 extra contact hours may be added. These reports are also recommended for other PhD students seeking recognition of the course by their institutions.

Minimum requirements: Bachelor in Biology, Natural Science or related areas.

Directed to: MSc or PhD students in Biology, Environmental Sciences, Ecology or related areas, postdocs and professionals working in related topics.