BIODIVERSITY OF MARINE ECOSYSTEMS
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- Versione italiana
- Academic year
- 2016/2017
- Teacher
- MICHELE MISTRI
- Credits
- 6
- Didactic period
- Secondo Semestre
- SSD
- BIO/07
Training objectives
- The course of Biodiversity of Marine Ecosystems aims to provide the scientific basis on which it is characterized ecological research at sea in the last century. The main objective of the course is the understanding and knowledge of the distribution of biodiversity in the marine environment. The student will acquire advanced knowledge about the structure, functioning and biodiversity of the major marine ecosystems and the risks to which biodiversity is subjected.
KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING
The student:
- knows the proper ecological terminology;
- has good knowledge of the ecology of natural systems;
- has good knowledge of the biology of the main phyla living at sea.
ABILITY TO APPLY KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING
The student is able to:
- Use the proper ecological terminology;
Understand the relationship between organisms and their environment in Nature
Understand how to sample species and groups of interest for further studies (field course)
Understanding differences in species biodiversity in hot spots and deserts in polar, temperate and tropical environment
Understand the major bio-diversity taxa and their importance in the Ecosystem
Understand and identify cases of disturbance in the marine environment
Ability to communicate with colleagues in adjacent disciplines Prerequisites
- No formal propedeuticity is required, however good knowledge of marine ecology, zoology and botany is necessary.
Course programme
- In the first part of the course (about 12 hours), after a brief introduction, arguments concerning the biological component of marine ecosystems will be addressed, with particular attention for the Mediterranean: Features of the major phyla of plants and animals that inhabit the marine environment. Pelagic and benthic domain. The Mediterranean Sea Plans.
In the second part of the course (about 10 hours) the student will be introduced to risks to marine biodiversity: Biogeography, alien species and lessepsian migrations. Marine pollution. Effects of climate change.
In the third part of the course (about 18 hours) the student will be introduced to the study of marine ecosystems: Soft and hard bottoms. Posidonia beds. The coralligeanous. Transitional ecosystems. Biodiversity in arctic/anctartic, temperate and tropical marine ecosystems.
The fourth part of the course (8 hours) includes lessons on the field, through excursions along the coast to learn plankton and benthos sampling techniques. Didactic methods
- The course consists of theory and practical lessons for a total of 40 hours of teaching in the classroom and 8 hours of teaching in the field (6 credits). Lessons are held weekly in the classroom and the exposure is done through the use of power-point slides. In addition to traditional lectures, the students are divided into groups for field excursions, of which each group is given a theme upon which they shall give an oral presentation with slides, of maximum 25 minutes.
Learning assessment procedures
- The goal of the final test is to verify the level of knowledge of the student. The evaluation is expressed as usual (/30), the minimum grade is 18.The exam is oral (about 30 minutes).
Reference texts
- Lecture notes
