65954 - Ecology

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course, the student has the basic knowledge to understand the main scientific paradigms of ecology. In particular, it is able to: - interpret the adaptive relations between plant and animal organisms and the environment and how it generates and maintains the biodiversity of the natural world; - recognize the main characteristics and dynamics of growth of the different species populations; - understand the ecological function of the fundamental interactions between populations of species, such as competition and predation, and how these are integrated into the dynamics of the communities of the living; - understand the efficiency of elementary ecosystem processes, such as energy flows, interactions between environmental compartments and biogeochemical cycles.

Course contents

The course of Ecology of 6 CFU is divided into two modules of 2 CFU held by Marina Antonia Colangelo (Module 1) and 4 CFU held by Federica Costantini (Module 2).

The two teachers will present the course together during the first day in which they will discuss the cultural roots of ecology, the purpose of ecology, levels of ecological organization, time and space scales, ecology as a science, and the methods to study ecology.

Module 1, Ecology of the populations is held by Marina Antonia Colangelo and will cover the following topics: Population ecology: property of populations; population growth, study of demography, exponential and logistic models of growth, carrying capacity and intraspecific competition. Biotic interactions: competition, predation, facilitation and other positive interactions, direct and indirect interactions.

Module 2:

Ecology of communities and ecosystems is held by Federica Costantini and will cover the following topics: life cycle models; concept of ecosystem; interactions between the physical environment (atmosphere, water, soil) and the biological community (concept of community, community structure, ecological succession and role of disturbing factors, diversity in particular in communities and factors that influence it); energy of ecosystems (energy sources, primary and secondary production, energy flows and food webs); the cyclization of matter (decomposition processes, biogeochemical cycles); ecosystem functioning (ecosystem properties and functions, stability and resilience, relations between biodiversity and functioning); conservation of ecosystems (ecosystem services and natural capital, human impacts and global changes, hints of environmental management).

Readings/Bibliography

REFERENCE TEXT:

Elementi di Ecologia - Edition Ten - 2023-  TM Smith, RL Smith. Pearson Education

Ecologia 2020 - Antonio Pusceddu, Gianluca Sarà, Pierluigi Viaroli – UTET Università

Other relevant bibliography will be provided during the lessons together with a copy of the power point presentations.

Teaching methods

Lectures will be taught using PowerPoint slides.

Activities will be held in person, remotely, or in a blended format, depending on the University's instructions at the time of the course.

 

The course includes a field trip to investigate different habitats.

Assessment methods

The end-of-course exam aims to evaluate the achievement of course objectives, such as knowledge of the relationships between organisms and the environment; the dynamics and growth of populations and their interactions; structure and function of the communities, the fundamental processes and functions of ecosystems such as energy flows and recycling of matter and biogeochemical cycles. The end-of-course exam is done simultaneously for the 2 modules. The questions will cover all the topics covered in the two modules and will be evaluated by each teacher of the relative module according to the following methods:

The exam will be in the form of written tests which will include both closed and open questions for each of the two modules. The overall assessment of the task will also be based on the conceptual difficulty of the individual questions and the "scientific" language used. 

A PowerPoint presentation on a threatened or rare natural habitat at Community level indicated in the Natura 2000 Network according to the "Habitats" Directive 92/43/EEC will be required.

The final grade, out of thirtieths, will be given by the weighted average of the grades obtained in each module and by a maximum of 2 points resulting from the evaluation of the PowerPoint presentation.

The dates of the exam will be published on the Almaesami website. Students can only book exams using the methods provided by the Alma Esami online system (https://almaesami.unibo.it/almaesami/welcome.htm).

Teaching tools

The teaching material will be available in the virtual space Teachings OnLine (https://iol.unibo.it).

Students with learning disorders and\or temporary or permanent disabilities: please, contact the office responsible (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en/for-students ) as soon as possible so that they can propose acceptable adjustments. The request for adaptation must be submitted in advance (15 days before the exam date) to the lecturer, who will assess the appropriateness of the adjustments, taking into account the teaching objectives.

Office hours

See the website of Federica Costantini

See the website of Marina Antonia Colangelo