Sala 109 Ed. IV
This site contains essential information for the Ecological Modelling course lectured by João Gomes Ferreira
| Name | Group | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | |
| Cátia Gonçalves | 1 | cativgoncalves@gmail.com | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | |||
| Ana Rodrigues | 1 | anaprodrigo@gmail.com | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
Powersim for educational purposes (please contact JGF). The software works only on 32 bit operating systems.
Modules marked in blue are assessment sessions and correspond to student presentations. These presentations should consist of a few Powerpoint slides and/or Powersim models
| Session | Date | Time | Topic | Class attendance |
| 1 | 2011.09.20 | 11.30-13.00 | Basic principles of ecological modelling | Yes |
| 2 | 2011.09.27 | 10.00-13.00 | Installation and testing of Powersim | No |
| 3 | 2011.10.04 | 10.00-11.30 | Review of Powersim | No |
| 11.30-13.00 | Individual student presentations on simple models developed, introductory Powersim workshop, topic and system selection | Yes | ||
| 4 | 2011.10.11 | 10.00-11.30 | Brainstorm on topic and system selection | No |
| 11.30-13.00 | Student presentations on topic and system selection, discussion | Yes | ||
| 5 | 2011.10.18 | 10.00-11.30 | Elements of ecological modelling | No |
| 11.30-13.00 | Student case study reviews, data sources | Yes | ||
| 6 | 2011.10.25 | 10.00-11.30 | Synthesis on system selection and data availability | No |
| 11.30-13.00 | Student data presentation, data requirements/gaps discussion | Yes | ||
| 7 | 2011.11.08 | 10.00-11.30 | Powersim review for ecological modelling | No |
| 11.30-13.00 | Student presentations on model setup, model functions, discussion | Yes | ||
| 8 | 2011.11.15 | 10.00-11.30 | Model aims and model implementation | No |
| 11.30-13.00 | Student review of calibration data, initial conditions etc, discussion. Validation and sensitivity analysis | Yes | ||
| 9 | 2011.11.22 | 10.00-11.15 | Development of models | No |
| 11.15-13.00 | Student presentations on model development , discussion. | Yes | ||
| 10 | 2011.11.29 | 10.00-11.15 | Development of models (continued) | No |
| 11.15-13.00 | Student presentations on model development , discussion. | Yes | ||
| 11 | 2011.12.06 | 10.00-11.15 | Workshop on validation and sensitivity analysis | No |
| 11.15-13.00 | Student review of model implementation, discussion, advanced topics in ecological modelling | Yes |
Room 109 - Building IV
One member of the group must have a laptop with PowerSim installed at class sessions.
Deadline for project:
Final work: To be handed in by Tuesday January 3rd 2011, 17.00h.
Room 446 Ed. Ambiente or secretarial office (D. Filomena Gomes)
The course will be assessed through coursework exercises, course participation, and by an ecological modelling project, done in a group of three. A model will be developed in Powersim, and a document written up detailing the work done.
Potential topics (others may be proposed by the student groups)
1. Eutrophication in a Portuguese reservoir (assigned to Group 2)
2. Production of gilthead bream (Sparus aurata, dourada) in pond culture in the Algarve.
Presentation for course session 4: Topic and system selection, bearing in mind (i) group interests; (ii) management relevance; (iii) complexity and tractability of issue, including data requirements and availability.
Presentation for course session 5: Case study reviews, data sources. Presentation of updated Session 4 slides, together with more detailed case study analysis and a review of data sources, and if possible, examples of the data itself. Further discussion. Other activities: development of forcing function components for models..
The structure of the ecological modelling project document (i.e. the report to be handed in as a final course deliverable) is as follows:
1. Maximum length: Ten A4 pages (no annexes), font 11 Arial, spacing: 1.5;
2. General structure (can be adapted): Problem definition, state of the art, methodology (model concept, implementation), results and discusssion (should include some basic sensitivity analysis), references;
3. The references must include at least eight recent SCI papers (2003-2011), relevant to the topic, and no more than eight web references. All references must be cited in the text. Only a maximum of two SCI papers and two web references can be from work by J.G. Ferreira.
The course mark will be calculated based on: 50% written work (includes the model itself), 50% course sessions and participation assessment.
Assessment 1: Develop a model with two state variables and connections between them (e.g. a fish and its prey) and illustrate the mass flux from prey to predator over a 365 day cycle. To be developed individually and presented on 2011.10.04
Assessment 2 : Topic and system selection, bearing in mind (i) group interests; (ii) management relevance; (iii) complexity and tractability of issue, including data requirements and availability. To be developed by the group and presented on 2011.10.11
Assessment 3 : Case study reviews, data sources. Presentation of updated Session 4 slides, together with more detailed case study analysis and a review of data sources, and if possible, examples of the data itself. Further discussion. To be developed by the group and presented on 2011.10.18
Assessment 4 and following: see course lecture schedule. These assessments relate to the ecological modelling project, and are project milestones.
Document retrieval areaDocument list in reverse chronological order - Click (or right-click) to download
Site developed by: IMAR-GEM - Institute for Marine Research - September 2011
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