Biology

General objectives The main objective is to allow the student to acquire knowledge of the structure and functioning of natural and anthropized ecosystems, the interactions between species and between these and the physico-chemical environment. The student will be able to understand: (1) the role of environmental factors in the numerical variations of populations and (2) the importance of species interactions in the ecosystem development processes (ecological succession) and associated variations in energy flows allocated to growth and maintenance. She/He will understand the role of man in the acceleration of environmental changes. The student will be guided through examples of real case studies that will be objects of discussion in the classroom to contribute to the development of skills in basic ecology. Specific objectives - Knowledge and understanding: The student will know theories, mechanisms and models of ecological processes at different scales of biological organization, from populations to ecosystems. She/He will understand the role of environmental factors in the numerical variations of populations and the importance of interactions between species in ecosystem development processes. She/He will understand the meaning of sustainability of the dynamics of natural populations including human populations. Ability to apply knowledge and understanding: At the end of the course the student will master the theories of ecology and the experiences that led to their formulation. The student will know how to define the different aspects of the same ecological problem. She/He will be able to apply graphic models to interactions between species and to ecological successions. Making judgments: The student will be able to interpret and compare literature data on the same topic. She/He will know how to ask questions for the elaboration and deepening of the acquired knowledge. These goals will be achieved through a strong interactivity between the teacher and the student and between students on the topics covered. Communication skills: During the lessons, the student will be stimulated to interact with the teacher and the class and to communicate what she/he has learned through the discussion of fundamental topics of ecology. Communication skills will be evaluated during the oral exam. Learning skills: The student will know the basic principles of ecology and the most important contributions from other disciplines of biology, physics, chemistry and mathematics to ecological theories, using an evolutionary key and learning the appropriate terminology. This will allow the student during her/his career not to limit to the observation and description of natural phenomena as separate events but to logically link the acquired knowledge by identifying the underlying mechanisms and the cause / effect relationship.