37644 - EvolutionaAnd Diversity of Marine Animals

Learning outcomes

Knowledge on the patterns, processes and mechanisms that have been involved in the evolution and diversification of marine invertebrates and vertebrates, with special emphasis on taxa of high evolutionary and adaptation success.

Conceptual and operational abilities on

• formulation and testing of evolutionary hypotheses on marine animals;
• description of marine animal biodiversity;
• reconstruction of the micro- and macro-evolutionary relationships among marine animal taxa based on the comparative analysis of morphological and functional characters.

Course contents

Lectures (4 CFU)

Evolutionary and adaptive pathways in the marine vertebrate and invertebrate natural histories. Main pathways are reconstructed using the comparative analysis of morphological and functional variation in the taxa with high success.

 

Marine vertebrates

• The principal “feeding” evolutionary and adaptive pathway (jaws, teeth, digestive apparatus)
• The “sensorial and elaborative” evolutionary and adaptive pathway (central and peripheral neural structures)
• The “movement” evolutionary and adaptive pathway (skeleton, muscles, caudal fin, pectoral and pelvic fins)
• The “respiratory and circulatory” evolutionary and adaptive pathway (respiratory and circulatory integrated structures and systems)

 

Marine invertebrates

• Evolution and adaptation of feeding and digestion
• Evolution and adaptation of osmoregulation and excretory structures
• Evolution and adaptation of respiratory structures and strategies
• Evolution and adaptation of circulatory structures

 

Lab exercises

Exercise1.  Identification and morpho-comparative analysis of marine vertebrates: lab dissection and morphological analysis of cartilaginous and bony fishes.

Exercise2. Identification and morphological analysis of marine invertebrates: taxon diversity in marine benthic communities of the North Adriatic Sea by sampling and lab identification of marine organisms.

Readings/Bibliography

BRUSCA Richard C., BRUSCA Gary J - INVERTEBRATI. Zanichelli.
KARDONG KV. VERTEBRATI. Anatomia comparata, funzione ed evoluzione.  Ed. MacGraw-Hil.

Testi gruppo-specifici
Carrier JC, Musick JA, Heithaus MR. (Eds) BIOLOGY OF SHARKS AND THEIR RELATIVES. Ed. CRC Press.

Teaching methods

Powerpoint presentations, micro and macroscopic analysis of biological specimens

Assessment methods

Written test: 4 queries with open anaswers

Teaching tools

Lectures
Lab exercises of morpho-anatomy

Office hours

See the website of Fausto Tinti