The course deals with the fundamentals of the molecular ecology discipline. Molecular Ecology stems from the synthesis of many different scientific areas such as ecology, evolution, molecular biology, genetics and behavioral biology. The aim of the course is to introduce the students into the theory and practice of molecular ecology. The course is structured in a way to acquaint students with the different molecular markers available and the protocols generating genomic and genetic data. In addition, a major portion of the course is devoted to the methods and analytical tools used in the survey of research questions pertaining the ecology, biogeography, diversity and behavior of living beings.

Knowledge: At the end of the course students should be able: a) to determine the proper molecular marker/markers to use depending on the research issue investigated, b) to design the analysis pipeline of the data at hand in order to tackle the issue under question, c) to identify methodological and data deficiencies and design the approach to properly supplement the data at hand.

Skills: At the end of the course students should be able: a) to perform state-of-the art population genetics and phylogenetics analyses, b) to interpret their findings within an eco-evolutionary framework.

Abilities: At the end of the course students should: a) master the theory relating to genetic/genomic data analyses, b) excel in generating and analyzing conventional genetic datasets as well as Big Genomic Data Sets using State-of-the-art phylogenetic software and programming languages, c) synthesize the information stemming from the analyses and propose the statistically more robust hypothesis explaining their findings.

Ηistory of Molecular Ecology (2h) - Molecular markers in Ecology (4h) - Population genetics/genomics (4h) - Phylogeography/Community phylogeography (4h)- Molecular and adaptive diversity (4h)- Genetics/genomics of conservation (4h) - Molecular Ecology of Behavior (2h) - Applied Molecular Ecology (2h)

There are no prerequisite courses in order for the students to take this course. However, in order for the students to keep up with the terminology, theory and structure of the course, some basic knowledge in Genetics, Evolutionary Biology, Molecular Biology and Ecology is necessary.

The course is offered to Erasmus students: Teaching in Greek language - Exams in English language.

The evaluation process is carried out in Greek language (there is the possibility in English for Erasmus students), with: a) a final written examination of the whole course, b) a mandatory Group Presentation and c) a mandatory Group Report. The total score derives by adding the Presentation score (60%) and the Report score (40%). In both the Presentation and the Report, the score has to be ≥ 5. If either is < 5 then the student fails in the present exams period.