The introductory lectures aim to explain fundamentals of ecological stoichiometry, principles of evolution of life and functioning of the biological systems. The principles are then applied as explanatory mechanisms of various ecological processes occurring in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems at different levels of biological organization. The last lectures focus on quantitative aspects of ecological stoichiometry and metabolic theory, their history, and the potential of their use in mathematical modelling of biological processes. Content of tutorials/seminar: During tutorials, students explore quantitative outcomes of concepts described in lectures. The aim of tutorials is to fully comprehend consequences of stoichiometric imbalances between environment, resources and organisms, or effects of body mass and organism growth rate changes on various processes occurring in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Introductory tutorials are focused on recapitulation of mathematical operations and functions, basics of simple statistical methods including distributions and error propagation. Students also thoroughly practice unit conversions. The remaining tutorials are divided into two broad topics focused on principles of ecological stoichiometry and metabolic theory in detail. The former cover: (i) relationship between availability and stoichiometry of macronutrients in the environment and the growth rate of organisms, (ii) growth rate-body element stoichiometry relationship, (iii) quantification of organic nutrients mineralization rate at different initial conditions, and (iv) quantification of organism's adaptability to changing environmental conditions. Within the second topic, students explore: (i) body mass-metabolic rate relationship, (ii) temperature-metabolic rate relationship, (iii) energy dissipation through the food chain, and (iv) changes in energy balance of organism along the gradients of energy availability in environment and the energy demands of organism for maintenance and survival. During the tutorials, students should solve two exercises specific to topics explored.
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Allen, A. P., Gillooly, J. F., & Brown, J. H. (2005). Linking the global carbon cycle to individual metabolism. Functional Ecology, 19 (2), 202-213. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2435.2005.00952.x.
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Allen AP, Gillooly JF, 2009: Towards an integration of ecological stoichiometry and the metabolic theory of ecology to better understand nutrient cycling. Ecol. Lett. 12, 369-384..
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Brown, J. H., Gillooly, J. F., Allen, A. P., Savage, V. M., & West, G. B. (2004). Toward a metabolic theory of ecology. Ecology, 85(7), 1771-1789. https://doi.org/10.1890/03-9000.
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Cleveland CC, Liptzin D, 2007: C:N:P stoichiometry in soil: is there a "Redfield ratio" for the microbial biomass? Biogeochemistry 85:235-252..
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DeLong, J. P., Okie, J. G., Moses, M. E., Sibly, R. M., & Brown, J. H. (2010). Shifts in metabolic scaling, production, and efficiency across major evolutionary transitions of life. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 107 (29), 12941-12945. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1007783107.
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Elser, J. (2006). Biological stoichiometry: a chemical bridge between ecosystem ecology and evolutionary biology. The American Naturalist, 168 Suppl(6), S25-35. https://doi.org/10.1086/509048.
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Enriquez, S., Duarte, C. M., & Sandjensen, K. (1993). Patterns in decomposition rates among photosynthetic organisms - the importance of detritus C-N-P content. Oecologia, 94 (4), 457-471..
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Cherif, M., & Loreau, M. (2009). When microbes and consumers determine the limiting nutrient of autotrophs: a theoretical analysis. Proceedings. Biological Sciences The Royal Society, 276(1656), 487-497. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2008.0560.
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Schramski, J. R., Dell, A. I., Grady, J. M., Sibly, R. M., & Brown, J. H. (2015). Metabolic theory predicts whole-ecosystem properties. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 112(8), 2617-2622. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1423502112.
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Sterner RW, Elser JJ, 2002: Ecological stoichiometry: the biology of elements from molecules to the biosphere. Princeton University Press, Princeton, 439 pp.
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