WK 25

Ecological Network Analysis

Network analysis is a useful systems approach for studying complex ecological interactions such as those that occur among genes, biochemicals, individuals, or species. This has lead to the rapid influx of network modeling, simulation and analytical tools in ecology. This workshop will guide attendees through the basics of network theory and several common applications in ecology. By the end, attendees will be able to: 1) describe the core features of a network model and identify the data required to build one, 2) explain what kinds of ecological questions can be addressed and 3) use freely available software to perform selected ecological network analyses. Beginning with and introduction to the underpinning network theory the workshop will cover both structural and dynamic ecological network analyses focusing on three common ecological networks: mutualistic networks, food webs and ecosystem networks.