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
Total hours
36
Teaching language
Português
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
PRE-REQUISITES
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.