Ecology: Biology of Interactions. Appendix III. Tentative Seminar Program
Each listed seminar topic can be covered either within one class session (two academic hours) or over a full seminar block. The structure is indicative and may be adapted to the specific group and learning format.
Ukrainian (latest version) / Russian (updates discontinued) Appendix II. Questions for the pass/fail test
Appendix II. Questions for Credit
D. Shabanov, M. Kravchenko. Ecology: Biology of Interactions Appendices
Appendix IV. Recommended Literature
Appendix III. Tentative Seminar Program Seminar 1. Introduction to Ecology and Ecological Features of Humans 1. Course organization. Working with printed and electronic literature, working with the Batrachos.com site. Interpretations of the concept of “ecology,” and the course view of ecology as a biological science. Unique ecological features of humans (related to lifestyle, population interactions, and exchange of matter, energy, and information). 2. Energy sources and principal resources used by modern humanity. Globality of humanity. Historical formation of humanity’s unique features. 3. Biological prerequisites for human origin. Comparison of cultural and genetic inheritance. Concept of memes. Human as a biosocial being. Seminar 2. Autecology and Environmental Science 1. Ecological environment and ecological factors. Different classifications of ecological factors. Anthropogenic factors and their specific features. Liebig’s law of the minimum (1840) and Shelford’s law of tolerance (1913). Diversity of organisms by tolerance ranges to different factors. 2. Solar radiation: composition (spectrum), atmospheric absorption, and effects on organisms. Different biological effects related to solar radiation. Adaptations of organisms to quantity and quality of electromagnetic radiation. 3. Organisms in time and space. Life cycles. Annual and circadian rhythms. Different mechanisms regulating the annual cycle. Photoperiodism. Migrations. Organismal traits related to body size. 4. Thermal and water balances of organisms. Thermobiological types of organisms. Temperature and amount of heat; concept of effective temperatures. Ecological rules of Bergmann, Allen, and Gloger. 5. Constellation (simultaneous action on an organism) of different ecological factors. Features of terrestrial-air, soil, and aquatic environments. Adaptations to life in these environments. Life forms and their classifications. Seminar 3. Interspecific Interactions and Population Regulation 1. Classification of interspecific interactions (based on signs of influence in the Lotka-Volterra model). Main interaction types. For each: optimal strategies of interacting species; examples of interaction; examples of morphological, physiological, and ethological adaptations for interaction. Gause’s rule: examples of applicability and cases where it fails. Different approaches to describing ecological niche. 2. Mechanisms regulating population size. Primary and secondary regulatory factors. Role of territoriality in regulation of population size. Specifics of population organization in different species. Strategies of intraspecific interactions. Seminar 4. The Contemporary Ecological Catastrophe Population structure of humans. Causes of human population growth and its prospects. Resources used by humanity. Comparison of agricultural systems in terms of agroecosystem productivity, stability, and environmental impact. Main ecological problems of modern humanity (problems of human-environment interaction) and possible pathways to their solution. Appendix II. Questions for the pass/fail test
D. Shabanov, M. Kravchenko. Ecology: Biology of Interactions Appendices
D. Shabanov, M. Kravchenko. Ecology: The Biology of Interaction Appendices
Appendix III. Recommended Literature