Ecology

Understanding how organisms interact with their environment and with each other is both a classic task of biological research and a pressing and practical issue in our society. More than ever, people are having an enormous impact in their environment through resource use, habitat degradation, and climate change. The degree in Ecology is designed to help you understand how animals, plants, fungi and microorganisms
interact with their environment, as well as the relationship between people and the rest of the biosphere.
The course covers the core conceptual issues of Ecology in its broadest sense, but also provides hands-on opportunities for learning the techniques to study and analysing ecological relationships across all types of organisms. Whether you are interested in pursuing an academic career,
or want to participate in the practical solution of ecological problems, the course of Ecology will provide you with the tools and concepts you need to succeed. The degree covers a wide range of topics including:

• Managing and conserving natural populations requires an integrated understanding including knowledge of their ecological interactions and

• Evolutionary Ecology
• Conservation Ecology
• Molecular Techniques
• Global Environmental Issues

• Animal Ecology
• Plant Ecology
• Tropical diversity
• Food Security. Fieldwork is an essential part of an ecologist’s training. Stirling’s campus location is an ideal base from which to make field excursions, whether to study lekking Black Grouse in the Highlands, the growth of trees on the sides of the Ochil Hills, or the distribution of animals in the Forth Estuary.

The programme includes a compulsory field class in Scotland in the second year, and an optional 10-day field course during 4th year to Southern Europe. (Students must pay most of the costs of their travel, accommodation, and subsistence for the field courses.) The 10-day field course in ecology and animal biology takes place in the Cévennes of France; a rugged mountain landscape of exceptional natural beauty and tremendous biodiversity. The organisms that live there include over 2,300 flowering plant species (24 of which are endemic), 2,000 invertebrate species and 300 vertebrate species. Notable among these are wild boar, otters, three vulture species (including endangered Cinereous vultures), and grey wolves. The region exemplifies the deep historical connection between humans and the natural world, and is recognised as a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve and World Heritage Site. Here you will learn techniques in identification, field sampling, experimental design, data analysis and presentation.

Students participating in the week-long field course in Spain stay at a field station 2 km away from the traditional hill-top town of Sorbas, near Almeria, in one of the driest parts of Europe. Through a series of excursions and intensive field projects students are introduced to environmental processes and resource management in arid environments.
Ecology underpins sustainable development, and as such it is becoming mainstream in policy development and planning. Many graduates progress to scientific careers in research or advisory roles in government agencies and non-governmental organisations. However, the skills learned in the Ecology degree are fundamental to those required in a wide range of other careers