Topics 

1. The Environment
   1. Physical environment
   2. Biotic environment
   3. Biotic and abiotic interactions.
2. Habitat and niche
   1. Concept of habitat and niche
   2. Niche width and overlap
   3. Fundamental and realized niche
   4. Resource partitioning
   5. Character displacement
3. Population ecology
   1. Characteristics of a population
   2. Population growth curves
   3. Population regulation
   4. Life history strategies (r and K selection)
   5. Concept of metapopulation – demes and dispersal, interdemic extinctions, age structured populations.
4. Species interactions
   1. Types of interactions
   2. Interspecific competition
   3. Herbivory
   4. Carnivory
   5. Pollination
   6. Symbiosis
5. Community ecology
   1. Nature of communities
   2. Community structure and attributes
   3. Levels of species diversity and its measurement
   4. Edges and ecotones.
6. Ecological succession
   1. Types
   2. Mechanisms
   3. Changes involved in succession
   4. Concept of climax
7. Ecosystem
   1. Structure and function
   2. Energy flow and mineral cycling (CNP)
   3. Primary production and decomposition
   4. Structure and function of some Indian ecosystems
      1. Terrestrial (forest, grassland)
      2. Aquatic (fresh water, marine, eustarine).
8. Biogeography
   1. Major terrestrial biomes
   2. Theory of island biogeography
   3. Biogeographical zones of India.
9. Applied ecology
   1. Environmental pollution
   2. Global environmental change
   3. Biodiversity-status, monitoring and documentation
   4. Major drivers of biodiversity change
   5. Biodiversity management approaches
10. Conservation biology
    1. Principles of conservation
    2. Major approaches to management
    3. Indian case studies on conservation/management strategy (Project Tiger, Biosphere reserves)