Study Programmes 2016-2017
BIOL2033-1  
Monitoring of the biodiversity and dynamics of citizen
Duration :
20h Th, 24h Pr, 8d FW
Number of credits :
Master in biology of organisms and ecology (120 ECTS)4
Lecturer :
Johann Delcourt, Mathieu Denoël, Alain Hambuckers, Michaël Ovidio
Coordinator :
Alain Hambuckers
Language(s) of instruction :
French language
Organisation and examination :
Teaching in the first semester, review in January
Units courses prerequisite and corequisite :
Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program
Learning unit contents :
This course includes 4 parts: (1) Monitoring of the biodiversity in land environment, (2) Analyzes of viability of the populations, (3) A brief introduction to the diversity, ecology and monitoring of amphibians and (4) Surveys of populations of freshwater fish
(1) Sampling of the biodiversity is based on the knowledge of foundations and the theoretical variations of its distribution. The realization of appropriate sampling plans  allows to test correctly hypotheses. The theoretical elements important to take into account will be explained. A practical exercise of sampling calibrated for landsnail species in forest environment will be realized. The collected data will be used within the framework of a managed work, to test the quality of the sampling (exhaustiveness). A set of data will also be given and used to highlight the effect of environmental factors on the species richness by using a generalized linear model (GLM).
(2) On basis of censuses of population, data collected during long term tracking of the individuals, or still data obtained by the methods of tagging-recapture, it is possible to obtain quantity of precious information concerning population dynamic. For a future environmental and wild-life manager, whatever the species is animal or vegetable, to be able to predict the state and the future of a population is a crucial question: is it healthy, is it in expansion or on the decline? What is the extinction probability of a population? These questions are relevant for decision-making concerning preservation: predict if a population is in danger or out of hazard, to estimate its degree of exploitation, to estimate the efficiency of the measures taken to save a threatened population or to control an invasive population, choose what are the populations to save first in priority in the face of constraints of time and money, and the impact of reintroduction. These subjects will be explained by alternating theory and practical examples by using the R software.
(3) The third part of the lecture is on the diversity, ecology and monitoring of amphibians, mainly from temperate regions. It will encompass distribution patterns, life cycle, demography and population dynamics, habitat, feeding habits, reproductive behaviour, sensory perspection as well as on study and survey techniques.
(4) The part of the lecture devoted to the monitoring of freshwater fish includes active participation in a field experiment (fish inventory by electric fishing, tagging, tracking) and pratical exercice and theoritical debriefing. The required work is the analysis of data collected during the field experiment, in order to present them in a written format, comprehensible by the administration in charge of the watercourses management.
Learning outcomes of the learning unit :
Part 1:  - To adopt appropriate sampling designs and data analysis methods
- Correctly report analysis results


Part 2:  - Master the concepts of determinist and stochastic models
- Be able of predicting the current and future state of a population
- Know how to make PVAs based on the countings and populational matrices - Know how to adapt methods according to the set of available data and to the field constraints
- Know how to use the main functions of {popbio} package in [R]
- Be able to answer practical questions in the context of management of natural populations on basis of the information collected by the PVAs, and suggest recommendations to manage these populations
- Master concepts and effects of temporal autocorrelation, of density dependence, Allee effect and of the demographic stochasticity
- Manage bias inferred by the observational errors and by the degree of detectability of a species
- Know how to estimate the effects of management on populations
- Develop his(her) critical mind about modellings  
Prerequisite knowledge and skills :
Basics of ecology
Basics of R and multivariate statistical analysis
Planned learning activities and teaching methods :
part 1: lecture, field work, staff-led work (data analysis and reporting)
part 2: lectures with sessions of applied exercises integrated directly into the course.
part 3: lecture. A field course is also planned in application of the points exposed during the lecture.
Mode of delivery (face-to-face ; distance-learning) :
Face-to-face, mandatory.
Recommended or required readings :
For the partim 2 (PVA): the course is essentially based on three sources:

1) Quantitative Morris WF and Doak DF (2002) biology preservation: theory and practice of viability analysis population. Ed. Sinauer, 480 p.

2) Caswell H (2001) Matrix population models: construction, analysis and interpretation(performance). Ed. Sinauer. 722 p.

3) { Popbio } in [ R ] Package: downloadable document on the link: https: // cran.r-project.org/web/packages/popbio/popbio.pdf
Assessment methods and criteria :
Part 1: presentation of the results and conclusions of the staff-led work
Part 2: it is asked to the student to apply the methods seen during the course within the framework of a directed exercise proposed during the year, and the student will have to present it orally.
Work placement(s) :
An optional field excursion is planned to show local amphibian diversity and sampling methods. This practical being given in the second quadrimester, it is destined only to students present in Belgium in that period.
Organizational remarks :
Contacts :
Part 1: Dr Alain HAMBUCKERS Unité de Biologie du Comportement Institut de Zoologie (Bât. I1) Université de Liège Quai van Beneden 22 4020 Liège E-mail: alain.hambuckers@ulg.ac.be(Johann.Delcourt@ulg.ac.be )
Part 2: Dr Johann DELCOURT Unité de Biologie du Comportement Institut de Zoologie (Bât. I1) Université de Liège Quai van Beneden 22 4020 Liège E-mail: Johann.Delcourt@ulg.ac.be   Part 3: Dr Mathieu DENOËL Unité de Biologie du Comportement Institut de Zoologie (Bât. I1) Université de Liège Quai van Beneden 22 4020 Liège E-mail: Mathieu.Denoel(Mathieu.Denoel@ulg.ac.be[a]ulg.ac.be )
Part 4: Dr Michaël OVIDIO Unité de Biologie du Comportement Institut de Zoologie (Bât. I1) Université de Liège Quai van Beneden 22 4020 Liège E-mail: M.Ovidio@ulg.ac.be