88270 - Biogeography and Macroecology

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course, students will have acquired knowledge on the development and distribution of the diversity of life on Earth, with a special emphasis on plants. They will learn about the spatial scaling of biodiversity, the role of biogeography, and the different levels of assembly organisation, from the local to the global scales. Students shall become acquainted with methods for the measurement of biodiversity and its partitioning across scales, as well as the role of biodiversity for ecosystem functioning and stability and relations between biodiversity and climate. Students will also learn about the use of biogeographical and macroecological theories and methods to understand the present strategies for biodiversity conservation. They will gain the capacity to investigate natural systems by means of data collection and analyses and preparation of a written report.

Course contents

MODULE 1 – Biogeographical and macroecological patterns

1. Introduction and historical overview
2. Patterns of species distribution and range size
3. Historical biogeography
4. Ecological biogeography
5. Spatial patterns of biodiversity in relation to latitude, climate and area
6. Relation between energy, productivity and biodiversity
7. Taxonomic and functional facets of biodiversity
8. Partitioning of biodiversity in space and time
9. Island biogeography
10. Human impacts on biomes and ecosystems
11. Conservation biogeography
12. Development of group work

MODULE 2 – Data analyses in biogeography and macroecology

1. Measures of biodiversity
2. Data collection and sources
3. Use of R in biogeography and macroecology
4. Analysis of alpha and gamma diversity
   
5. Beta diversity and gamma decomposition
6. Species-area relationships
   
7. Modelling species diversity
8. Multivariate analysis

Readings/Bibliography

The theoretical notions of biogeography can be studied on the book:

Cox, C. B., Ladle, R. J., & Moore, P. D. (2020). Biogeography: An Ecological and Evolutionary Approach. Wiley.

The theoretical notions of macroecology can be studied on the material provided by the teacher.

For those students who would like to have furthur insights, useful books are.

Lomolino M.V., Riddle B.R., Whittaker R.J., 2017. Biogeography: Biological Diversity Across Space and Time. Sinauer Associates

Gaston K.J., Blackburn T., 2008. Pattern and Process in Macroecology. John Wiley & Sons.

Teaching methods

The course is organised into a first module made up by 16 class lectures on theoretical topics, given by the teacher with open discussion, and a second module made up by practical exercises for assembling and analysing data set of biogeographical and macroecological patterns.

As for the teaching methods of this course unit, all students must attend the health and safety courses: Module 1, Module 2 (online), while Module 3 is to be attended in class for those students who wish to make also field work to deepen knowledge on the topic. Information about Module 3 attendance schedule is available on the website of your degree programme.

Assessment methods

Type of assessment: Written test at the first examination call and interview for all the subsequent examination calls.

Type of questions: open questions.

Description of evaluation: The written test and the interview aims to verify the acquisition by the students the fundamental theoretical knowledge on the topics discussed during the course and her/his capacity to use these knowledge to understand the major biogeographical and macroecological patterns as well as to apply this knowledge to some problems such as conservation planning. Particular attention will be given to the capacity of the student to use a hypothetico-deductive method of conducting science-based reasoning.

Teaching tools

Lecture presentations, textbbook, scientific papers, biogeographical and macroecological data sets, reports of group work.

Office hours

See the website of Alessandro Chiarucci