Understanding of ecological processes, and our ability to use this knowledge to inform biodiversity and for conservation planning. The advanced course, including seven modules and four thematic lectures, will aim to introduce basic knowledge on important areas in Biodiversity & Ecology, covering different areas such as: (i) Conservation of Biodiversity on Tropical and Temperate Ecosystems; (ii) Introduction to the recent applications in the field of “e-Biodiversity” using e-platforms (e.g., GBIF); (v) Analyzing and interpreting ecological data observed on biological and environmental variables, using Multivariate Analysis (e.g., clustering, regression, multidimensional scaling, and correspondence analysis, among others); and (iv) Analysis of spatially-referenced environmental data and Ecological Modelling. Moreover, other up-to-date topics such as "Blue Green Infrastructures" and "DNA base biodiversity: using case studies from different taxonomic groups (fungi; flora and fauna)" will be explored.

Students will be requested to develop a project, preferably choosing a case study integrated in their own PhD projects. Tutorial classes, will be constitute by small classes of only a few students, in which the tutor or the coordinator (MMRomeiras) will give individual attention to the students (e.g. hands-on learning programs). At the end, the PhD student will prepare a paper that could be submitted to a scientific journal in a near future and thus meet each student's needs.