General and Molecular Ecology

General

• Code: TΑBO-37-Γ7
• Semester: 3rd
• Study Level: Undergraduate
• Course type: Special Background
• Teaching and exams language: Greek (English for Erasmus students)
• The course is offered to Erasmus students
• Teaching Methods (Hours/Week): Tutorials (Theory) (3)
• ECTS Units: 5
• Course homepage: https://eclass.emt.ihu.gr/courses/FD181/
• Instructors: Papadopoulos Nikolaos
• Class Schedule:
  • Mon 10:00 - 13:00: Αίθουσα Αγγλικών

Course Contents

• Introduction, biosphere, biosystems, environmental factors and adaptations of organisms.
• Ecology of the individual, population size and density, survival, fertility, mortality, population growth, stochastic models.
• Competition, habitat, predation, population cycles and fluctuations, r-and K-selection.
• Biocommunity and ecosystem, diversity and stability, primary and secondary productivity.
• Food chains, pyramids and networks, energy flow, biogeochemical cycles.
• Theories of ecological succession.
• Definition of biodiversity, Rio Convention on Biological Diversity.
• Components, quantification, indicators and measurement methods, biodiversity assessment.
• Long-term evolution of biodiversity, species extinctions, population declines, current state of species.
• Biogeographic areas, endemism, biodiversity gradations by latitude and altitude.
• Impact of environmental parameters and anthropogenic effects on biodiversity, on agricultural and natural ecosystems, on plant and animal species.
• Biodiversity management principles and measures, conservation perspectives, the Greek Strategy for the Preservation of Biodiversity.
• Organic agriculture and biodiversity, biodiversity of agroecosystems.

Educational Goals

The course aims to introduce students to: a) the basic principles of ecology, as a basis for biological and productive courses, and b) the basic concepts of biodiversity.
The course material aims to introduce students to general and agricultural ecology, environmental parameters that affect organisms, biogeochemical cycles of elements, energy flow, adaptations of organisms, the structures that their populations form, the relationships that develop among them, the characteristics of biocommunities and the mechanisms that shape them, ecosystems and succession processes. Also, the course focuses on understanding the basic characteristics and processes that govern the biodiversity of species, ecosystems and landscapes, as well as analyzing the factors, natural and anthropogenic, that affect it.
Similarly, in the context of the laboratory exercises of the course, the student receives knowledge about the recognition of the environmental factors that influence the adaptation and development of organisms, the characteristics of the populations and biocommunities that they form, the measurement of the produced biomass and energy that ecosystems produce. It also understands the mechanisms of biodiversity pattern formation and biodiversity indicator estimation methodology.

Upon successful completion of the course, the student has the necessary knowledge regarding:

• Abiotic factors and how they affect organisms,
• The elements necessary for organizations and their recycling,
• The composition of populations, biocommunities and ecosystems,
• The biotic relationships between organisms,
• Energy flow, ecosystem productivity and ecological succession,
• The levels of organization of biodiversity.

General Skills

• Decision-making.
• Autonomous work.
• Teamwork.
• Production of free, creative and inductive thinking.
• Work in an interdisciplinary environment.

Teaching Methods

• In the classroom, face to face.

Use of ICT means

• Basic software (windows, word, power point, the web, etc.).
• Support of learning process through the electronic platform / e-class.

Teaching Organization

Students Evaluation

Assessment Method:

• Short Answer Questions.
• Development Questions.

Recommended Bibliography

1. Begon M., Howarth R., Townsend C. (Ελληνική έκδοση: Σγαρδέλης Σ., ΔημόπουλοςΠ., Πυρίντσος Σ.) Οικολογία: Πληθυσμοί, βιοκοινότητες και εφαρμογές.
2. Βώκου Δ. 2009. Γενική οικολογία. 1η έκδοση, ISBN: 978-960-12-1769-7, University Studio Press.
3. Βερεσόγλου Δ. 2010 (3η Έκδοση). Οικολογία. Διαθέτης (Εκδότης): Γαρταγάνης Διονύσιος.
4. Primack R., Αριανούτσου Μ., Δημητρακόπουλος Π. 2017.  Βιολογία της διατήρησης, μια εισαγωγή. University Studio Press.

Related Research Journals

1. Ecology, Oecologia,
2. Journal of Ecology,
3. Advances in Ecological Research,
4. Ecological Monographs,
5. Ecological Applications,
6. Ecography.