Learning objectives
The course is aimed at providing a basic theoretical backgroundrequired for studying the mechanisms underlying ecological processes atdifferent levels of complexity (organism, population, communities andecosystem). <br />
Prerequisites
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Course unit content
<br /> What is ecology.<br />Definition of: biodiversity, species, fitness and ecotype<br />Natural selection. <br />Conditions and Resources <br />How the performance of a species is related to the intensity of an environmental conditions<br />Temperature and individuals: Q10 and the day-degree concepts.<br />Ectoterms and endotherms.<br />Acclimatisation.<br />Radiation as a resource for green plants. Photosynthetic activity and water supply.<br />The nutritional content of plant and animals as food.<br />The C:N ratio in plants and animal tissues. <br />The ecological niche. <br />Patterns in community structure<br />Main terrestrial biomes and aquatic habitats. <br />Population ecology<br />Counting individuals. Life cycles. Cohort life tables. Reproductiverates, generation lengths and rate of increase. Population structureand sex ratio.<br />Migration and dispersal in space and time. Seed bank.<br />Intraspecific competition<br />The regulation of population size.<br />Mathematical models: exponential and logistic increase <br />Interspecific competition<br />The Lotka-Volterra model. <br />An outline of mutualism and parasitism.<br />Predation. The basic dynamics of pradator prey, the Lotka-Volterra model. A simple model of harvesting: fixed quotas.<br />An outline of decomposers and detritivores.<br />Communities<br />Theories of species abundance.<br />Patterns of species richness. <br />Removal or introduction of key species <br />The number of trophic levels and food webs.<br />Compexity and stability. Resilence and resistence. Diversity indeces<br />Ecological theories of island communities. <br />Ecological succession<br />Optimal foraging theory <br />The Flux of energy and matter through communities. Patterns in primaryproductivity. P:B ratio. Consumption, assimilation and productionefficiency. Patterns of energy flow in terrestrial and aquaticcommunities. Biogeochemical cycles. I cicli biogeochimici. Cenni diecologia<br />applicata.<br />Global perturbation of biogeochemical cycles: pollution and global climate changes. <br /><br />
Full programme
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Bibliography
Townsend C.R., Harper J.L., Begon M. 2001. L'essenziale di ecologia. Zanichelli.
Teaching methods
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Assessment methods and criteria
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Other information
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