Master Ecology and Ecosystems (833 [3] - Version 2026)

MEC 1 Principles of Ecology (15 ECTS)

• 300435 VO [ en ] Biogeochemistry and Ecosystems
• 300449 SE [ en ] Literature seminar on biodiversity and ecosystems
• 300450 VO [ en ] Evolutionary and ecological foundations of biodiversity

MEC 2 Core Methods in Ecology (15 ECTS)

• 300028 VU [ en ] Introduction to GIS - Focus: Nature Conservation - GIS 1
• 300065 VU [ en ] Quantitative analysis of time series and population data
• 300085 VU [ en ] Applied Statistics in R
• 300169 UE [ en ] Basic Lab course: terrestrial/molecular ecology
• 300170 VU [ en ] Basic Laboratory Course in Aquatic Ecology
• 300193 VU [ de en ] Preparation and evaluation of multifactorial experiments in Ecology
• 300205 VU [ en ] Analysis of Ecological Data - univariate methods
• 300345 VU Digital Spatial Analyses - GIS 2 (Spatial Analysis)
• 300401 VU [ en ] Statistics course based on R - (Data Analysis and modeling)
• 300469 UE [ en ] Management and analysis of spatial Data - GIS III - Programming in ArcGIS, QGIS and R

MEC 3 Scientific Practice (15 ECTS)

• 300022 PR [ en ] Specific Research Project in Ecology

MEC 4 Individual Specialisation (15 ECTS)

• 300012 VO Introduction to Geodata and Spatial Analysis - GIS1
• 300033 VO Introduction to Mycology
• 300046 VO Mollusca - Organization, Biology and Systematics of Mollusca
• 300094 VU [ en ] Scientific Thinking: Understanding Evolution - How does science construct our knowledge of the natural world ?
• 300101 SE [ en ] Scientific Writing Workshop
• 300104 UE [ en ] ( REMOTE ) Science Communication
• 300125 VO [ en ] Symbiosis - concepts and model systems (Part 1)
• 300160 UE [ en ] Practical introduction to programming for biologists
• 300187 EX Birds on the water
• 300218 UE [ de en ] Scanning electron microscopy - techniques and preparations for biologists
• 300236 VO [ en ] Prokaryotic evolution and diversity
• 300239 UE [ de en ] Multiple preparation techniques for use in light- and electron microscopy
• 300306 UE [ en ] Transmission Electron Microscopy: A hands-on course including immunolabelling of cells and tissues - Hands-on Immunolabelling for Light and Electron Microscopy
• 300353 UE [ en ] Applied programming for Bioinformatics - Principles and techniques for simple programming to solve biological problems, using a common programming language. Practical experience with text processing and automation of external programms.
• 300370 UE [ de en ] Functional morphology of Insects
• 300371 SE [ en ] New concepts in archaeal and bacterial biology
• 300393 EX Field mycology
• 300462 SE Phylogenetics actually - Actual problems and results in Phylogeny

MEC 5 Master’s Seminar (3 ECTS)

Group of Elective Modules (30 ECTS)

MEC W1 Limnology and Marine Ecology (15 ECTS)

• 300087 UE Identification of aquatic invertebrates in Central European freshwaters
• 300092 UE [ de en ] Introduction to Coral Reef Biology
• 300132 VO Dragonflies - Ecology and Assessment of Surface Waters
• 300139 VO [ de en ] Groundwater Ecology - An Introduction
• 300177 SE [ en ] Fundamentals in Marine Ecology
• 300181 VO [ en ] Fundamentals in Marine Ecology
• 300226 VO [ de en ] Biology and Biodiversity of European Marine Coastal Habitats
• 300351 VO Algae in Freshwaters - Ecophysiology with implications for the bio-assessment of aquatic systems and the response to climate change.

MEC W2 Terrestrial Ecology (15 ECTS)

• 300052 UE [ de en es ] Tropical Botany: Ants-Plants-Microorganisms - Modellsysteme für multitrophische Interaktionen
• 300057 SE [ en ] Seminar in Fungal Ecology
• 300082 VU [ en ] Introduction to ecological modelling
• 300111 SE [ en ] Current topics in soil microbial ecology
• 300133 SE [ en ] Island biogeography - natural laboratories for theory and practice in ecology and conservation
• 300136 VO [ en ] Ecology and biogeography of the Alpine Flora
• 300167 UE [ en ] Global Change Effects on Plant-Soil-Microbe Systems
• 300180 SE [ en ] Biology of tropical amphibians
• 300241 VO Tropical ecosystems of South and Central America
• 300252 VU Data analysis in vegetation ecology
• 300264 VO Soil Ecology (interdisciplinary lecture)
• 300359 SE+UE [ en ] Stable Isotopes in Ecology - Stable Isotope Tracing
• 300471 SE [ en ] Seminar Chemodiversity Research - Phytochemistry, function, interpretation

MEC W3 Molecular Ecology (15 ECTS)

• 300108 UE [ en ] Genome analysis for Ecologists
• 300122 VO [ en ] Biology and Evolution of Archaea - Archaea evolution, genetics, cell biology, ecology and biotechnology
• 300127 VO [ en ] Genomic approaches to variation and adaptation: a road map
• 300200 UE [ en ] High-Throughput DNA Sequencing: - Whole Genome Sequencing, Target Enrichment and Phylogenetics/-genomics - a hands-on tutorial
• 300409 VO [ en ] Molecular Ecology of Plants
• 300415 SE [ en ] Seminar for Molecular Biology of Plants
• 300417 VO [ en ] Molecular Biology of Plants
• 311307 UE [ en ] Practical Course in Molecular Ecology - Microbiology of Archaea, Bacteria and their Viruses

MEC W4 Global Change Ecology (15 ECTS)

• 290605 VO [ en ] ( REMOTE ) Sustainability and Digital Transformation
• 300045 VO [ en ] Biodiversity, global change and conservation in mountain ecosystems
• 300071 VO Climate Change - Biodiversity, Global Change and Climate Policy - (climate change)
• 300120 SE [ en ] Biodiversity and Conservation Science - Seminar for Masterstudents