Ateneo - UPO

Introduction to Ecology; Ecological footprint; The concept of Ecological systems; Levels of Ecological organization; The role of animals, plants, fungi and microorganisms; Species interactions; Concepts of habitat, niche, time, space; Global warming and the human impact in the environment; adaptations to water; adaptations to light, energy and heat; adaptations to climate, water and soil; evolutionary biology; sex and evolution; family, society and evolution; ecology of populations; ecotoxicology; life histories of animals; vegetarianism and veganism; sustainable development; climate change; field work in Sesia river.

Economy of Nature, by Robert Ricklefs; Evolution, by Douglas Futuyma; Symbiotic planet, by Lynn Margulis; The selfish gene, by Richard Dawkins; Evolution in four dimensions, by Eva Jablonka; The origin of species, by Charles Darwin; What makes biology unique, by Ernst Mayr; Gaia, by James Lovelock;

Introduce students to contemporary knowledge of natural ecology, molecular ecology, sustainable development, global warming, climate change, pollution, environmentalism, conservationism and ecologism.

None

Theoretical classes; Watching movies; Field work; Group discussions about relevant and contemporary topics on Ecology; Article reading, interpreting and presenting.

Students with physical disabilities, Learning Disabilities or Special Education Needs can request specific services and tools via the Staff Sviluppo e Coordinamento Carriere e Servizi alle Studentesse e agli Studenti, consulting the University webpage: https://www.uniupo.it/en/services/services-students-physical-or-learning-disabilities
Students with disabilities, learning disabilities or special education needs, once they have contacted the University Staff, can refer to the tutor in charge of the course to define the examination modalities, concerning academic aspects.

Student performance is evaluated based on attendance, active participation in lessons, the depth of questions, and general interest in the class and its subjects. For the final assessment, students are required to choose and present an article on Ecology on the last day of the course. This presentation, which should last between 10 and 20 minutes, serves as the final exam. Evaluation criteria include the student's understanding of the article, the clarity of the presentation (covering the main aims, methods, and results), and the ability to answer questions posed by the professor and colleagues, demonstrating a true capacity to interpret the authors’ presented messages.

General Introduction
* Genomics and biodiversity;
* Animal and plant genomics;
* Mitochondrial genomics;
* Comparative genomics;
* Research integrity and publication ethics;

Basic knowledge in Ecology
* Haeckel's original proposal for ecology
* The science of ecology
* Ecology as a social movement
* Natural ecology
* Social ecology
* Conservationism
* Ecologism
* The concept of Ecological systems
* Levels of Ecological organization
* The role of animals, plants, fungi and microorganisms
* Species interactions
* Important concepts in ecology: habitat, niche, time, space
* Human impact in the environment
Adaptations to Water
* Water properties
* Cohesion-tension theory
* The relationship between plants and water
* Plant adaptations to drought
* The relationship between animals and water
* Animal adaptations to freshwater environments * Animal adaptations to marine environments
* Communication in whales and dolphins
Adaptations to light, energy and heat
* Sunlight and their influence on biological organisms
* Adaptations to desert environment
* Photosynthetic active pigments
* C3 Photosynthesis
* C4 Photosynthesis
* CAM Photosynthesis
* Photosynthesis in the water
* Temperature and organisms
* Regulation of temperature in animals
Adaptations to climate, water and soil
* Variations in climate
* Solar radiation on Earth
* Hadley circulation
* Coriolis effect
* Water cycles
* Ocean currents
* Upwelling zones
* Thermohaline circulation
* Seasonal cycles in lakes
* Topography and ecology
* Soil horizons and types
EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY
* The history of evolutionary thought
* The platonic view
* Lamarckian thought
* Darwin travel on the HMS Beagle
* Darwinian theory
* The tree of life
* Common descent
* Artificial and natural selection
* Types of natural selection
* Modern evolutionary synthesis
* Extended evolutionary synthesis
* Inclusive inheritance
* Epigenetics
* Phenotypic plasticity
* Population Genetics
* Pseudoscience and evolutionary theory
Life Histories
* Different life histories of animals
* Time of living
* Trade-offs in resource allocation
* Reproductive success
* Age at first reproduction
* Parental investment
* Senescence
* Animal foraging
Ecology and diet
* Environmental impact of meat-based diet
* Health impact of meat-based diet
* Environmental impact of Mediterranean diet
* Environmental impact of Vegetarian diet
* Environmental impact of Vegan diet
* Animal farming
* Animal ethics
* Dairy products and their impact on health
Sex and evolution
* Sexual selection
* Sexual dimorphism
* Sexual reproduction
* Parthenogenesis
* Selfish gene theory
* Coevolving with pathogens
* Mechanisms of sex determination
* Mating systems
* Female choice
Family, Society and Evolution
* Social behavior in animals
* Alpha males and females
* Territoriality
* Collaboration
* Game theory and the prisioner's dillema
* Parent-offspring conflict
* Hymenopteran societies
* Superorganisms and colonies
Ecology of Populations
* The population thought
* Density, distribution, age structure and sex ratio
* Population dispersal
* Growth potential of populations
* Carrying capacity
* Different patterns of fluctuation in N
* Survivorship curves
* Population genetics
* Inbreeding
* Genetic drift
* Effective population size
Species interactions (Part 1)
* Consumer-resource interactions and dynamics
* Parasitism and pathogen-host interactions
* Herbivores and plant population
* Different types of mutualism and symbiosis
* Competition and Limiting resources
* Predator-prey interactions
* Coevolution
* Competition concepts
* Competition and Limiting resources
* Predation regulation
* Coevolution
* Monophyletic and polyphyletic characters
* Adaptation to predation: camouflage and warning coloration
* Character displacement
* Habitat productivity
Communities structures and Ecological Succession
* Multiple concepts of Communities
* Communities as super-organisms
* Ecotones
* Community structure
* Feeding relationships
* Functional webs
* Trophic cascade
* Ecological succession
* Sere concept
* Climax communities
Communities and Biodiversity (Part 2)
* Biodiversity patterns
* Island biogeography
* History of life in Earth
* Geological eras
* Continental drift
* Vicariance
* Zoogeographic regions
* Climate change
* Adaptive convergences
* Ancestral ecology
Ecotoxicology
* Environmental toxicology
* Chemicals in the atmosphere
* Chemicals in the lithosphere
* Chemicals in the hydrosphere
* Chemicals in the biosphere
* Movement of chemicals
* Bioavailability and biomagnification
* Effects on populations, communities and ecosystems
Gender mainstreaming: approaches to grant equal benefits in actions and activities for women and mens and for eliminating gender inequalities.

Provide basic knowledge about ecology and allow the students to acquire critical thinking on evaluating scientific works in ecology and contemporary issues on environmentalism.