Learning objectives
To give essential scientific bases to understand the ecological processes of plant populations and communities<br />
Prerequisites
Students must have attended a basic ecology course and a botany or plant physiology course<br />
Course unit content
<br /><br /><br /><br />Scientific method in Ecology<br /><br /><br />Definition of Science<br />Brief discussion about the role of science in our society<br />Case study for a choice between two different hypothesis<br />Why should we use models in ecology?<br /><br />How a scientific ecological research should be conducted<br /><br /><br />Methods to find the most important factor influencing a process<br />Example from Ecology October 1999<br />The role of ANOVA in Ecology<br /><br />Fixed and random models<br /># Ecofisiologia Vegetale<br />Plant Ecophysiology<br /> Light and photosynthesis<br /> Photosynthesis and plant adaptation to light environment<br /> Photosinthesis in C3, C4 and CAM plants<br /> Isotopic discrimination<br /> Photosynthesis and enviromental factors: light, water, CO2 and temperature<br /> A/Ci curves and Fahrquar models<br /><br /># Water and plants<br /> Transpiration and factors affecting transpiration<br /> Water Use Efficency<br /><br /># Nutrients<br /> Nitrogen<br /> Other nutrients<br /><br />Genotype x Enviroment interaction<br /> Patterns of adaptation to environment<br /> Phenotypic plasticity<br /> The role of phytochrome for light response by plants<br /><br />Evolution and population genetics<br /><br /> How genetic variability is measured<br /> Allozymes<br /> RFLP<br /> RAPD<br /> Microsatellite<br /> AFLP<br /><br /> Gene frequencies, genotype frequencies and Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium<br /> Heterozygosity and fixation index<br /> Genetic drift and gene flow<br /> Habitat fragmentation<br /> Genetic distances<br /> Selection<br /><br /># Quantitative traits<br /> Variance components and heritability<br /> Heritability estimate<br /> QTL mapping<br /> Interval mapping<br />Hierarchical models<br /><br /><br />
Full programme
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Bibliography
- Gurevitch, Schneider, Fox (2002) The Ecology of Plants. Sinauer Ass.<br /><br />- Barbour, Burk, Pitts, Gilliam, Schwartz (1999) Terrestial Plant Ecology. Cummings - Addison Wesley Longman<br /><br />- Pignatti S.(1995) Ecologia Vegetale. UTET.
Teaching methods
Three practical laboratories in the field are tipically carried out during the class.<br />
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A written exam is programmed when about half of the program is done. <br />
A final oral exam is programmed after the end of the teaching class.
Assessment methods and criteria
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Other information
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