General Ecology
Code
10356
Academic unit
Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia
Department
Departamento de Ciências e Engenharia do Ambiente
Credits
3.0
Teacher in charge
Maria Rosa Santos de Paiva, Maria Teresa Calvão Rodrigues
Weekly hours
3
Teaching language
Português
Objectives
ECOLOGY - OBJECTIVES
Future Environmental Engineers must be able of undestanding and analysing the following topics::
- Energy and ecosystems: use and degradation by populations and communities. Practical applications: quantification of different types of ecosystem productivities; evaluation of the positive and negative impacts resulting from the application of different strategies aiming at productivity optimization.
- Responses at population and community level to physical and biotic parameters. Practical applications: to forecast the type and sign of responses, allowing for the evaluation of the limits of tolerance of the organisms to environmental impacts.
- Main mechanisms shapping population dynamics. Practical applications: modelling of population processes and forecast of population numbers.
- Basic understanding of the structure, dynamics and problems presently faced by some types of biomes. Practical applications: design of adequate strategies for ecosystem and biome management.
In summary, students will be able of interpreting , based on scientific principles, the main processes undergone by natural communities. They should become aware of the potential of Ecology as a tool applicable to the mitigation of environmental problems.
Prerequisites
Students should have obtained approval in all subjects lectured in previous semesters. Particularly relevant for the study of Ecology are: Introduction to Enviromental Problems, Biology and Analysis of Environmental Data.
Subject matter
1. INTRODUCTION [3 lectures]
1.1 Ecology and interdisciplinarity. 1.2 Relationship among trophic levels. 1.3 Speciation mechanisms. 1.4 Role of Ecology in contemporary problem solving.
2. ENERGY and ECOSYSTEM PRODUCTIVITY [5 lectures]
2.1 Trophic chains and webs. 2.2 Energetic inputs and types of productivity. 2.3 Comparison among ecosystems: factors limiting productivity. 2.4 Strategies related to productivity otpimization. 2.5 Discussion.
3. POPULATION ECOLOGY
3.1 GENETIC BIODIVERSITY - evolution and conservation [ 4 lectures]. 3.1.1 Genetic mechanisms and ecological consequences. 3.1.2 Natural selection: equilibrium model. 3.1.3 Random drift and founder effect. 3.1.4 Applications to ecosystem management. 3.1.5 Discussion.
3.2 POPULATION DYNAMICS [5 lectures] 3.2.1 Definitions. Populaliton processes. 3.2.2 Population budgets: life tables. analysis, ecological intrepretation and predictive value. 3.2.3 Population models: basic types of growth, ecological intrepretation and predictive value. 3.2.4 Intraspecific competition and population fate. Interspecific competiton and co-evolution. 3.2.5 Application to ecosystem management.3.2.6 Discussion.
3.3 ECOLOGICAL FACTORS [ 4 lectures ] 3.3.1. General principles and limiting role. 3.3.2 Mode of action and consequences of selected factors. 3.3.3 Practical aplications. Discussion.
4 SYNTESIS [ 3 lectures]
4.1 Comunity structure and evolutionary tendencies. 4.2 Biodiversity: causes of erosion and measures to halt its decline. 4.3 Study case. General discussion.
Bibliography
*BEGON M, COLIN R, TOWSEND J, HARPER L. 2005. Ecology: From Individuals to Ecosystems. 4th Edition, 752 pp. Wiley-Blackwell
*BOLHUIS, J.J., GIRALDEAU, L-A. 2005. The Behavior of Animals. Mechanisms, Functions, and Evolution. Blackwell Publishing, Oxford
*GASTON, K.J., SPICER, J. I. 2004. Biodiversity – An Introduction. Blackwell Pub. Co. ISBN 1-4051-1857
*ODUM, E. 1971. Fundamentos de Ecologia. Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisboa. (Chapter 3 only): “Princípios e Conceitos Fundamentais Relacionados com a Energia”]
*PITÉ, M. T. e AVELAR, T. 1996. Ecologia das Populações e das Comunidades - uma abordagem evolutiva do estudo da biodiversidade. Edição da Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisboa.
*RANTA, E., KAITALA, V., LUNDBERG, P. 2005. Ecology of Populations. Cambridge University Press. ISBN: 0521854350.
*SOUTHWOOD, T. R. E., HANDERSON, P. A. 2000. Ecological Methods. Blackwell Science. ISBN 0632054778.
Teaching method
It is considered that students will actively and continuously participate by working autonomously on the topics presented during the classes. For each lecture of 50 minutes, an additional time investment of about 1 hour 30 minutes is expected. A general text book is not recommended. Students will be given a password allowing access to the site where the relevant information will be made available: http://moodle.fct.unl.pt/course/view.php?id=373. Additional study material will be distributed during the lectures and practical classes, including photocopies of the graphs and figures presented. Other sources of information will also be indicated
Evaluation method
Evaluations
Calculation of the final mark:
(mean of the three tests x 0.55) +(mark of the practical x 0.45)
or
(mark of the final examination x 0.55) +(mark of the practical x 0.45)
A minimum of 10.0 must be obtained in each one of the two components used to calculate the final mark.