Educational objectives -General objectives
At the end of the course the student will have acquired a knowledge of evolutionary processes and related
pattern of biodiversity and will have developed a scientific vision of biological diversity that goes beyond its
mere description, also in relation to teaching biology in the school.
- Specific objectives:
Knowledge and understanding:
The student will acquire the knowledge of evolutionary
processes and patterns of biodiversity and will develop a scientific vision of biological diversity beyond its
description.
Ability to apply knowledge and understanding:
The student will acquire the ability to
understand and interpret biodiversity and adaptations of organisms to the environment, according to the
evolutionary mechanisms.
Critical and judgmental capacities:
Through classroom discussion of the main themes of
evolutionary biology the student will understand the reasons that make it the central unifying discipline of
biology, and its relevance in applied Biology for the human society.
Ability to communicate what has been learned:
The students in the classroom are constantly
encouraged to interact with each other and with the teacher in the discussion of the evolutionary themes
under discussion.
Ability to continue the study independently in the life:
The student will acquire the critical
vision and language of modern evolutionary biology. These skills will make the student able to face future
biological studies, including experimental activities, having also understood the historical (phylogenetic)
dimension of this discipline.
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Educational objectives General objectives –
The main objective is to allow the student to acquire knowledge of the applications of the basic ecology principles to emerging environmental problems (pollution, biological resource exploitation, climate change, etc.), moving through the levels of organism, population, community and ecosystem up to the macro-ecological scales (landscape, regional and global). Through lectures, seminars and practical examples, the student will be guided in the diagnosis and recovery of ecosystems, in the conservation and management of biodiversity and natural populations in aquatic and terrestrial environments. Real case studies will be discussed in the classroom to encourage the development of skills in applied ecology.
Specific objectives -
Knowledge and understanding:
The student will know and understand the origin and the management approaches to the current environmental crisis. She/He will know the specific terminology of applied ecology, as well as the theories and the mechanisms of ecological processes at different scales of biological organization, from populations to the ecosphere. She/he will understand the role of environmental factors and the human interference in the numerical variations of populations and in the ecosystem
development processes. The understanding of the interdependence between environmental phenomena will be strongly stimulated, also through the analysis and discussion of specific study cases in the classroom.
Ability to apply knowledge and understanding:
At the end of the course, the student will know in depth the main applications of ecological theories useful for solving current environmental problems and will be able to use the specific terminology. She/He will be able to address problems and questions related to the various themes of applied ecology. She/He will master the dynamics of threatened populations and harmful species and will be able to apply the ecological principles to their management. She/He will know the causes of pollution, and how to measure it, and will acquire critical tools to interpret and compare environmental recovery strategies through the analysis of study cases.
Making judgments:
The student will read critically and discuss, in light of her/his knowledge, literature data to address specific problems related to the treated issues. This objective will be achieved through a strong interactivity between teacher and student and between students, on the topics of applied ecology.
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 applied ecology from lectures and scientific literature. Communication skills will be evaluated during the oral exam.
Learning skills:
The good knowledge of the applied ecology and the main approaches in solving practical environmental problems with basic integrations with other biological disciplines will allow the student to continue the bioecological studies in an autonomous and flexible way without losing sight of the physiology of the organisms and their evolutionary capacity. The student at the end of the course will then acquire the ability to identify problematic and innovative aspects in biological issues and to use cognitive tools for the continuous updating of knowledge.
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Educational objectives Educational objectives
The course aims to:
1. Provide a solid foundation of the principles of evolution and systematics of plant species.
2. Provide the necessary tools for the recognition and knowledge of the evolutionary and systematic relationships of the main groups of Italian vascular plants.
3. Studying strategies for the conservation, enhancement, and sustainable use of plant resources with reference to the flora of Italy.
Specific skills
A) Knowledge and understanding
-Knowledge of the main families of vascular plants
-Knowledge and understanding of biodiversity and conservation strategies
B) Applying knowledge and understanding
- be able to use the specific terminology
-be able of identifying the main species of the Italian flora
- able to assess the biodiversity and the state of conservation of the flora
C) Making judgements
-acquire critical judgment skills, through the study of the progress of botanical knowledge and conservation biology
- learning by questioning
D) Communication skills
-be able to communicate what has been learned during seminars in class and during the oral exam
E) Learning skills
- learning the specific terminology
- be able to make the logical connections between the topics covered
- be able to identify the most relevant topics.
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Educational objectives General skills
The goal of this course is to provide students with knowledge concerning: i) animal behaviour, including the specie-specific natural history and the role played by genes and environment, and their interaction, in shaping the behavioural repertoire; ii) scientific standardized methods to study behaviour both in natural and laboratory contexts. Students attending the course should have basic knowledge of genetics, developmental biology, zoology, comparative anatomy and ecology. The course consists in lectures, including focused seminars on specific topics, and field training with excursions to both urban and natural parks.
Specific skills
A) Knowledge and understanding: Students will achieve a good understanding of the ethological approach, developing the ability to interpret the animal behaviour from a functional, causal, ontogenic and phylogenetic point of view.
B) Applying knowledge and understanding: Students will achieve the ability to apply an observational scientific method to the analysis of animal behaviour.
C) Making judgements: Students will develop critical capacity and autonomy of judgement with respect to the description and interpretation of the behavioural observations.
D) Communication skills: Students should be able to communicate what they have been learned during the oral exam.
E) Learning skills: Students will learn how to use the ethological approach as a tool to study animal behaviour both in natural and captivity contexts.
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Educational objectives Educational goals
Knowing the basic principles of Conservation Biology, with a particular reference to animal populations. Definition of biodiversity, from the intra-specific level to ecosystems; definition of the values of biodiversity and of the main threats to its conservation. Knowing the concepts of extinction and species/populations vulnerability. Definition of the main issues for the conservation of animal biodiversity and of the role of protected areas. Definition of the basic principle of sustainable development. The prerequisites include basics of genetics, taxonomy and ecology, which should already be acquired through the first and second year of study.
The contents of the course are particularly linked to those of Zoology and Ecology.
Specific objectives
A) Knowledge
- basic principles of Conservation Biology with its philosophical grounds.
- concept of biodiversity and of its values
- main threats to biodiversity
- concept of extinction and of species vulnerability
- main applications of conservation biology from the species distribution models to the population viability analysis
- role and importance of protected areas in conservation biology
- basic principles of sustainable development.
B) Application of knowledge and understanding
- correct use of scientific language
- theoretical framing of selected case studies
- identification of the ecological, sociological, and economical parameters which define selected problems in conservation biology
- identification of the methodological approaches which better suits the common applications in conservation biology
C) Judgement
- acquiring the capacity of critical examination of a problem through the knowledge of the field of study
- being able to put the theoretical knowledge in practical case studies
- evaluating the need to elaborate on the knowledge
D) Communication abilities
- being able to communicate accurately and adequately what is being learned
E) Learning abilities
- to make proper use of the scientific language which characterize the field of Conservation Biology, showing also the capacity to use the most appropriate communication techniques
- to put in the correct relationship all knowledge acquired during the course of study
- to identify the most important points in the topics covered
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