USING INDIRECT METHODS TO REVEAL FOOD WEB
INTERACTIONS AND COMMUNITY STRUCTURE
PhD course: 2-ECTS Credits 24-28 March 2014, Umeå University
The course provides a comprehensive introduction to recent developed methods/tools to study
trophic interactions, food web dynamics, and community and biodiversity ecology. Topics included
are among others: stable isotope analysis to discern trophic relationships; otolith/tissue
analysis to study migration, habitat use and habitat coupling; chiral chemicals as tracers of
food web interactions and using different DNA techniques to study diets and food web
interactions, community composition and biodiversity. The course involves a combination of
theoretical lecturers and practical exercises when applicable. The course includes free lunch
and a course dinner on Thursday 27. Student number is restricted to 20 participants. The
course is arranged and financed by the strategic research program ECOCHANGE
http://www.umf.umu.se/english/ecochange/
For further information contact the course organizers:
Pär Byström:
Agneta Andersson:
phone +46 (0)90 7869493, e-mail: par.bystrom@emg.umu.se
phone: +46 (0)90 786 9845, e-mail: agneta.andersson@emg.umu.se
Department of Ecology and Environmental Science
Umeå University
SE 901 87 Umeå Sweden
Course application should be sent by mail to Marie Kårebrand no later than 10 of March
Marie.karebrand@emg.umu.se. The application should include a short written description of
your PhD project. As attendants are limited to 20 students, organizers will if necessary select
candidates based on applicability of course content to the PhD projects descriptions.
Information Umeå university: http://www.umu.se/english/?languageId=1
Senior Lecturers:
Elena Gorikhova, Professor: Department of Applied Environmental Science , Stockholm University.
http://www.itm.su.se/page.php?pid=536&id=278
Daniel Lundin, Dr: Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, Linnaeus University, Kalmar
Jan Karlsson: Professor: Department of Ecology and environmental Science, Umeå university.
http://www.emg.umu.se/om-institutionen/personal/karlsson-jan
Evelina Griniene, Dr: Coastal Research and Planning Institute, Klaipėda University Lithuania
http://www.ku.lt/en/marine-science-and-technology-center/coastal-research-and-planning-institute/
Terry Bidleman, Professor: Department of Chemistry, Umeå University.
http://www.umu.se/sok/english/staff-directory/view-person?uid=tefr0002&guise=anst1
Per Larsson, Professor: Department of Biology and Environmental Science, Linnaeus University, Kalmar.
http://lnu.se/employee/per.larsson?l=en
Eric Coissac, Associate professor, Laboratoire d'Ecologie Alpine
Université J. Fourier, Grenoble, France. http://www-leca.ujf-grenoble.fr/equipes/emabio_composition.htm
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Preliminary schedule 24-28 March
Monday:
13.00 - 13.30 NC 250:
Course intro PB/AA
13.30 - 17.00 NC 250:
Elena Gorokhova
Integrating molecular diet analysis, stable isotopes and feeding experiments for
field applications.
Tuesday:
09.00 - 12.00 NC 250
Daniel Lundin
Molecular analysis of microbial communities in natural environments:
Amplicon sequencing, metagenomics and metatranscriptomics
13.00- 17.00 Lab exercise Daniel Lundin
Analysis of Illumina MiSeq-sequenced 16S amplicons
Wednesday: 08.30 - 11.30 NC 280
Jan Karlsson
Using stable isotopic analysis food webs interactions, trophic relationships and
energy transfer within and between ecosystems
12.30- 15.00 NC 280: Lab exercise Jan Karlsson
Mixing models Exercises and calculations
15.00 -17.00 NC 280
Evelina Griniene:
Use of dilution techniques to measured predation in pelagic food webs
Thurday:
09.00 - 11.30 NC 250
Terry Bidleman
Chiral chemicals as tracers of food web interactions and pollutants sources
12.30 - 16.30 NC 280:
Per Larsson
Otolith/tissue analysis to study migration, habitat use and habitat coupling
19.00 -
Friday:
Course dinner
08.30 – 12.30 NC 280
Eric Coissac
Using DNA metabarcoding techniques in studies of food webs interactions,
trophic relationships and biodiversity
___________________________________________________________________________