97260 - Biogeography and Macroecology

Learning outcomes

The goal of the course is to provide to students an advanced knowledge about the biodiversity and geographic distribution of organisms, at different organization levels. The student will acquire a knowledge on how evolutionary, paleogeographic, paleoclimatic, and ecological factors have determined the present differential distribution of organisms on Earth. In addition, the student will acquire basic knowledge on the methods adopted for the quantitive study of present and historical biogeography, as well as the capacity to understand the factors determining the diversity and distribution of organisms in a predictive perspective.

Course contents

Theoretical contents

Biogeography

1. From the origins of biogeography to the present: history of biogeography; ecological biogeography and historical biogeography; phytogeography and zoogeography; distribution of life today; Darwin, Wallace, von Humboldt; biogeographical regionalizations; present biogeography.

2. Distribution in space: distribution limits; ecological niche, ecological, climatic and geographical barriers; climatic and topographical relics; endemism; interaction between species; movements in space, migration and invasion.

3. Communities and ecosystems: coexistence; communities, ecosystems and species diversity; biotic assemblies on a global scale; mountain biomes; global climate models; climate diagrams; relationships between biomes and climate.

4. Spatial patterns of biodiversity: how many species are there? latitudinal gradients of diversity; legacies of the glaciations; latitude and species distribution ranges; diversity and altitude; biodiversity hotspots; diversity in space and time; intermediate disturbance hypothesis; dynamic biodiversity and neutral theory; the species-area relationship.

5. The engines of diversity: plate tectonics; past distribution of life; current barriers and legacy of the past; Substrates; evolution as a source of novelty; from populations to species; sympatric versus allopatric phenomena; definitions of species; dispersion, vicariance and endemism.

6. Island biogeography: types of islands; biological processes on the islands; colonisation and extinction; evolution and adaptations to life on the islands; islet syndrome; theory of insular biogeography; general dynamic model of oceanic island biogeography; case studies (Hawaii, Canary Islands, Mediterranean) and special cases.

7. The distribution of life: Knowing the geography of the planet; biogeographical regions today; history of biogeographical regionalisation; biogeography based on animal groups and biogeography based on plants; the legacy of the glaciations.

8. The human species and its effects: modern humans and the extinctions of megafauna; plant domestication and agriculture; domestication of animals; Anthropocene and biodiversity crisis; biogeography of conservation.

Macroecology

1. Biodiversity structures: gradients; natural communities, artificial assemblages; alpha, beta and gamma diversity; similarities and differences; indices and quantitative measurements; partitioning of diversity in time and space; components of beta diversity, nesting and turnover; biotic homogenisation;

2. Species distribution and abundance: distribution of frequency and abundance on a geographical scale, patterns of variation of species richness along environmental gradients; habitat fragmentation and changes in distributions.

3. Species pool and dark Diversity: history of species-pool theory, from the local to the global scale; relationships between observation scales; dark diversity; absent species as an indicator of human effects on biodiversity.

4. Biodiversity conservation: Conservation on an opportunistic and science-based bases; trelations among observation scales; conservation planning; conservation science with big data; climate change and conservation.

Pratical section and exercises

• The use of big data: extracting and analysing data from GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility) and other biodiversity data repositories

• Study and model species-area relationships;

• Calculate beta diversity meausures;

• Applications for biodiversity conservation.

Readings/Bibliography

The concepts of biogeography can be studied on the book:

Cox, C., Moore, P., & Ladle, R. (2016). Biogeography: An Ecological and Evolutionary Approach, 9th Edition. Wiley.

The concepts of Macroecology can be studied on the material provided by the teacher.

 

Other textboks for those interested to further insights 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.

Hugget R., 2004. Fundamentals of Biogeography. Taylor & Francis.

Smith Felisa A., Gittleman JohnL., Brown James H. (2014) Foundations of Macroecology: Classic Papers with Commentaries. University of Chicago Press.

Teaching methods

The course is organised into 16 class lectures given by the teacher with open discussion, 4 lectures based on assigned group discussion on selected topics, practical exercises for assembling and analysing example data set of biogeographical and macroecological patterns.

As concerns the teaching methods of this course unit, all students must attend Module 1, 2 online, while Module 3 on health and safety 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

The exam aims to verify that the student has achieved the educational objectives of the course.

Type of test: written exam at the first session and oral exams during all subsequent sessions.

The written exam consists of 6 open questions related to the theoretical concepts present in the program and/or related to the possibility of applying those concepts in a practical context. The answer will be in the form of a short written text.

The oral exam consists of 3 questions related to the theoretical concepts present in the program and/or related to the possibility of applying those concepts in a practical context. The answer will be oral and includes an interaction with the teacher, who may request details.

Description of the assessment: The oral exam and the written exams are aimed at verifying the students' learning of the theoretical foundations on the topics discussed during the course and their ability to use this knowledge to understand the main biogeographical and macroecological patterns, as well as to apply this knowledge to the resolution of specific problems such as conservation planning. Particular attention will be paid to the students' ability to develop a hypothetical-deductive approach in conducting reasoning based on the scientific method. The final grade will be based on the evaluation of the answers to the questions asked. The achievement of a complete, organic and reasoned vision of the topics covered, together with the ability to express oneself appropriately, will be evaluated with marks of excellence (26-30). Mostly mechanical and mnemonic knowledge as well as not very in-depth, and a capacity for expression that is not always appropriate, will lead to fair evaluations (22-25). Minimal knowledge and language that is not entirely appropriate will lead to sufficient evaluations (18-21). Serious gaps in knowledge and expression will lead to insufficient evaluations.

Teaching tools

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

Office hours

See the website of Alessandro Chiarucci