Functional Ecology

Recommended Prerequisites

Genetics, Plant anatomy, Plant physiology, statistics.

Teaching Methods

During the theoretical classes it is given to the students information on the main topics of the program, based on the intepretation of figures and tables from experiments in ecology. The understanding of the processes is tested afterwards during the practical classes, where the students have to establish an experimental design to study species interaction, execut the experience, collect the data, perform the statistical analysis and prepare a scientific manuscript with the results of the experiment.

Learning Outcomes

Main objective: give the student the theoretical and practical knowledge of plant ecology, as an integrative science at the individual, population and community level.

Specific objectives: (i) Knowledge and learning capabilities: understand the concepts and principles of ecology; (ii) Applied knowledge: learning experimental designs to do research in ecology; (iii) Self-learning: develop research abilities through bibliographic research, synthesis capacity and interpretation of ecological experiments.

Work Placement(s)

No

Syllabus

Theoretical program:

Unit 1: Distribution and abundance of plant populations

1. Seed dispersion ecology;

2. Seeds: dormancy and germination;

3. Life strategies of plants;

4. Herbivory: from individuals to ecosystems;

 

Unit 2: Communities of plants

1. Concept of community;

2. The study of communities;

3. Spatial and temporal scale of ecological studies;

4. Vegetation and climate;

5. Biogeography and conservation;

6. Succession: theoretical models and case studies;

7. Disturbance and biodiversity;

8. Geographical patterns of diversity;

9. Diversity and stability;

10. Functional atributes;

11. Facilitation and competition;

 

Unit 3: Ecosystem ecology and Global Change

1. Polination ecology: influence on the assemble of plant communities;

2. Biology of plant populations;

3. Ecology of ecosystems and global change: ecosystems and nutrient cycles;

4. Ecological responses to recent climatic changes.

Head Lecturer(s)

Helena Maria de Oliveira Freitas

Assessment Methods

Assessement
Synthesis work: 5.0%
Mini Tests: 5.0%
Research work: 10.0%
Exam: 80.0%

Bibliography

Chapin III FS, Matson PA, Mooney HA (2002) Principles of Terrestrial Ecosystems Ecology. Springer. 436p

 

Harper JL (1977) Population Biology of Plantas. Academic Press. 892p

 

Mace GM, Balmford A, Ginsberg JR (1998) Conservation in a Changing World. Cambridge University Press. 308p

 

Schulze E-D, Beck E, Muller-Hohenstein K (2005) Plant Ecology. Springer. 702p

 

Silvertown J, Charlesworth D (2001) Introduction to Plant Population Biology. Blackwell. 347p