This textbook provides a basis for courses in ecosystem modelling based on the Ecopath with Ecosim (EwE) modelling framework and software. EwE is a versatile approach with a low but very long (and gradually steeper) learning curve.
The authors have been central to the development of EwE for more than thirty years, and during that time the simple Ecopath mass-balance approach it started with has through the addition of time and spatial-dynamic models, among others, been expanded to become a dynamic toolbox that can be used to address anything from simple fundamental research questions to very complex management and policy questions related to ecosystem based management.
It's been a guiding principle throughout the development of EwE to provide an easy-to-access approach that does not require extensive mathematical or programming capabilities to get start. Model first, ask later is the philosophy. By just getting started with modelling, you gain insight and can start asking fundamental questions about how components of ecosystems interplay. Diving deeper is important, but this textbook makes the initial getting-started as simple and accessible as possible.