| ECOLOGY, ETHOLOGY AND EVOLUTION OF MARINE ORGANISMS
(objectives)
The course is designed to offer comprehensive knowledge on the ecological, ethological and
evolutionary processes that govern marine environmental systems.
Knowledge and Understanding:
Participants will gain insights into the fundamental principles underlying the ecological, ethological
and evolutionary mechanisms and processes that influence the distribution, abundance, and
interactions of marine organisms with both living and non-living elements of their environment.
Applied Knowledge and Understanding:
The application of this knowledge will emphasize the multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, and
integrative aspects of the subject matter.
Autonomy of Judgment:
Students will develop the ability to make independent evaluations during the interpretation of
results, utilizing critical analysis of scientific literature to explore eco-evolutionary issues on their
own.
Communication Skills:
These skills will be cultivated through classroom discussions aimed at addressing research
questions related to the causes of evolutionary change.
Ability to Learn:
A deeper understanding of the subject matter will enable students to tackle complex, multi-scale
disciplines and problems, as well as the diverse experimental methods associated with them,
thereby formulating well-supported scientific inquiries.
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Code
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18176 |
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Language
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ITA |
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Type of certificate
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Profit certificate
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| Module: MODULE A
(objectives)
Modulo A di Marine Ecology and Evolution
The module aims to provide solid knowledge on the ecological and evolutionary processes that
regulate the functioning of marine ecosystems.
Knowledge and understanding
The knowledge acquired will concern the general principles on which the mechanisms that
determine the distribution, abundance and relationships with the biotic and abiotic environment of
marine organisms are based.
Applied knowledge and understanding
The application of knowledge will be focused on understanding the multidisciplinary,
interdisciplinary and integrative nature of the topics covered. Specific areas of applied knowledge
that will be focused on will be conservation biology, global change biology, invasion biology
Autonomy of judgment
The ability to formulate autonomous assessments of specific issues of ecological and evolutionary
importance will be exercised using the critical reading and collective discussions of the scientific
literature.
Communication skills
Students will develop these skills through the exercise of self-expression (interventions in class) to
address research questions and through a master class session at the end of the course.
Ability to learn
Student will further improve their ability to learn and, consequently, to formulate solid and
evidence-based scientific questions, through the analysis of the complex and multi-scalar problems
that characterizes ecological and evolutionary investigations.
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Language
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ITA |
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Type of certificate
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Profit certificate
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Credits
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6
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Scientific Disciplinary Sector Code
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BIO/07
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Contact Hours
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32
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Exercise Hours
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16
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Type of Activity
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Core compulsory activities
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Teacher
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CANESTRELLI Daniele
(syllabus)
Ecology and evolutionary biology. Fields of study, methodological approaches, temporal and spatial scales of enquiry.
Marine communities. Ecological factors and biodiversity patterns. The tidal range: causes and consequences of the zonation. Adaptations. Biological interactions, community structure, metacommunity.
Molecular and evolutionary ecology. Principles, methods and fields of investigation. Mechanisms of the evolutionary change. Species and speciation. Phylogeography and biogeography. Diversity and divergence. Dispersal, migration, gene flow. Landscape genetics.
Population and metapopulation. Structure, diversity and demographic changes. Census size, effective size. Historical demographic survey: methods based on demographic and genetic data.
Biological invasions. Causes, vectors and invasion paths. Factors behind successful invasions. Evolution of the invaders. Eco-evolutionary consequences of invasions. Lessepsian invasions.
Variations of the coastline. Causes, time scales, magnitude of changes, effects on biodiversity at the level of population, species, communities.
Evolutionary history of the Mediterranean basin and its shores. Tectonic evolution, climate evolution, impact on biodiversity.
(reference books)
Bertness, Bruno, Silliman, Stachowicz, 2014. Marine Community Ecology and Conservation. Sinauer Associates.
Freeland, Kirk, Petersen, 2011. Molecular Ecology. Wiley.
Losos, 2013. The Princeton guide to Evolution. Princeton University Press.
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Dates of beginning and end of teaching activities
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From to |
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Delivery mode
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Traditional
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Attendance
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not mandatory
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Evaluation methods
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Oral exam
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| Module: MODULE B
(objectives)
Modulo B di Marine Ecology and Evolution
The course aims to provide solid knowledge on the fundamentals of behavioural biology and the
related processes that occur and regulate the functioning of marine animal communities in an
evolutionary framework.
Knowledge and understanding
The knowledge acquired will concern the general principles on which the behavioural mechanisms
and processes, up to the individual level, determine intra- and inter-specific interactions,
distribution, abundance and the relationships with the biotic and abiotic environment.
Applied knowledge and understanding
The application of knowledge will be focused on understanding the multidisciplinary,
interdisciplinary and integrative nature of the topics covered, including applied aspects.
Autonomy of judgment
The ability to formulate autonomous assessments can be exercised in the interpretation phase of
the results, during the practicals, and using the critical reading of the scientific literature to
independently investigate behavioural ecology issues with an integrative approach based on
proximate and ultimate causation of behaviour
Communication skills
These skills will be developed through the exercise of self-expression (interventions in class) as
well as in critically reading and discussing assigned scientific articles
Ability to learn
The deepening of knowledge will allow to deal with complex and multi-scalar disciplines and
problems, and with the variety of investigation methods inherent to them, to formulate solid and
evidence-based scientific questions on behavioural ecology issues
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Language
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ITA |
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Type of certificate
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Profit certificate
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Credits
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5
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Scientific Disciplinary Sector Code
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BIO/05
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Contact Hours
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32
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Laboratory Hours
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8
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Type of Activity
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Core compulsory activities
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Teacher
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CARERE Claudio
(syllabus)
Fundamentals of ethology. History of the study of animal behaviour and its transversality; the four questions of Tinbergen. Imprinting; maternal effects. Neuroendocrine substrates of behaviour. Stress response. Role of genes and the environment. Behavioural plasticity. The role of behaviour in evolution. Partner choice and reproductive systems. Prey and predators. Migration, orientation and navigation. Aggression, territoriality, animal personality. Collective behaviours. Behavioural ecology and hypothesis testing. Behavioural evolutionary convergences and divergences; Cognitive ethology. Animal welfare.
Behavioural ecology of marine organisms. Behavioural adaptations: insular coastal fauna, pelagic environment; diving in marine mammals, life in depth; social behaviour; schooling, group dynamics and self-organization; coloniality; parental care, territoriality, aggression; sexual inversion; foraging strategies. Orientation, migration and homing. Outline of bioacoustics; chemical communication; bioluminescence; electrolocation
Study methodologies. Methods of capture and marking; experimental designs, hypothesis evaluation; measurement of behaviour in the field and under controlled conditions: esemoi., Tracking methods: satellite tracking, geolocalizers, accelerometers. Radar and sonar.
Conservation and management. Behavioural ecotoxicology; endocrine disruptors; effects of anthropogenic disturbance. Effects of climate change. The behaviour of invasive species. Importance of behavioural studies in the conservation and management of marine biodiversity. Behaviour and aquaculture
(reference books)
J.R. Krebs, N.B. Davies (eds) 2012 Behavioural Ecology. An Evolutionary Approach- Blackwell
M. Bateson, P. Martin 2021 (Fourth Edition) Measuring behaviour: an introductory guide.Cambridge University Press
J. Alcock 2013 Animal Behaviour. An Evolutionary Approach. Oxford University Press
A. Manning, M.S. Dawkins 2012 An Introduction to Animal Behaviour. Cambridge University Press
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Dates of beginning and end of teaching activities
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From to |
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Delivery mode
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Traditional
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Attendance
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not mandatory
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Evaluation methods
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Oral exam
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