Natural Sciences

The main aim of the teaching of "Ecology" is to highlight the basic principles of environmental biology, underlining the aspects of interaction and interdependence of the components of biological and ecological systems. Specific training objectives are: the knowledge of the environmental conditions and the processes that are basic for life on earth; the understanding of the structure, functioning and evolution of bio-ecological systems, from the molecular to the community levels and ecosystem; the analysis of the effects of anthropic pressure on natural systems. The knowledge and skills acquired in this teaching will constitute a reference framework for a critical analysis of the consequences deriving from the transformations of the natural environment caused by human activities The students who have passed the exam will know and understand (acquired knowledge) - the basic principle and ecological concept, and level and characteristics of ecological hierarchy which includes species, population, community and ecosystem; - the mechanisms that determine the structure and functioning of bio-ecological systems; - the complex interactions between organisms and between organisms and environment; - the mechanisms that regulate the patterns and the speed of evolutionary changes within and between species; - - the dynamics of adaptive processes; - the concept of species, speciation models and the evolution of reproductive isolation in ature; - the origin and maintenance of biological diversity; - - the importance of biodiversity as a measure of ecosystem stability;, - evolutionary thinking in the study of ecology; - the existence and importance of the relationshps between culture and nature, between society and the environment. The students who have passed the exam will be able to (acquired skills): - see biological phenomena in a multi-scale and multi-factorial context; - interpreting ecological data; - use general ecological concepts to analyze the consequences of the natural environment changes; - critically analyze problems relating to biodiversity, evolution and global change; - identify and develop key issues to create learning paths in the environmental field.