Category Archives: Uncategorized

After a short thesis-writing siesta the Cafe is back! And in no small way. Thanks to the hard work of Ben Haller, UBC professor Dr. Michael Doebeli will be giving two talks this week. The first, entitled ‘Adaptive Diversification’, will be … Continue reading →

That’s right, another model of evolution at the Eco-Theoretic Cafe. This time Helene Weigang (Claus Rueffler, University of Vienna) will discuss her “Magistra der Naturwissenschaften” dissertation, entitled: The evolution of division of labour in an explicit ecological context All y’all … Continue reading →

To kick things off this new year, the Eco-Theoretic Cafe is proud to present Jordan Pleet, a PhD student in Peter Abrams’ Lab at the University of Toronto. Jordan will discuss the work he is doing on: “Maintaining intraspecific variation and … Continue reading →

Next up for the theoretical cafe: Justin Marleau, PhD student in the Loreau Lab, discusses space. Space in ecology: methods and models. A survey in the methods and models used in spatial ecology, with a focus on which model frameworks … Continue reading →

Next up, on November 14, 2011, 11am, in W3/18, Stewart: Mehdi Cherif (Fussman Post-doc) will present: Ecological stoichiometry: a stereoscopic vision of trophic interactions and food webs! Ecological stoichiometry is a recent approach in ecology that considers jointly the multiple … Continue reading →

The Eco-Theoretic Cafe has just received a $785 grant from the Post-Graduate Student Society! Although there are restrictions on what we can buy, we will discuss ideas next meeting. Hurrah!

Ben Haller recently suggested that the Eco-theoretic Cafe should step-up and protect the theoretical aspect of McGill’s Biology Department.  The worry is, with Claire de Mazancourt and Michel Loreau leaving soon, a large part of theoretical ecology and evolution will … Continue reading →

First meeting a success. 11 students from 8 different labs discussed many things, such as: 1. Purpose of the cafe: to create cross-talk between labs (both theoretical and not) 2. Comparison of the mathematical method and the  scientific method: one … Continue reading →

“Like most mathematicians, he takes the hopeful biologist to the edge of a pond, points out that a good swim will help his work, and then pushes him in and leaves him to drown.” – Charles Elton, in reference to … Continue reading →

Looking for a productive way to begin your Halloween? Well…On Oct 31, at 11am, Magnus will lead a short overview of modeling and how to apply it to a (relatively) simple ecological system (Otto and Day 2007; http://press.princeton.edu/chapters/s8458.pdf). The idea … Continue reading →