Specific skills:



1. To know the main biomes of the earth and the general ecological processes, the factors that affect them and their dynamics, as well as the fundamental characteristics of the main ecosystems and habitats at regional scale.

2. Use procedures to estimate, represent and interpret biodiversity at various population, taxonomic, ecological scales, their interactions in natural and anthropized environments, and their environmental significance.

3. Understand the current demographic challenges and the complex relationships between human populations and the environment.



Transversal skills



1. Be able to use information from a variety of sources on an applied topic, interpret it appropriately, draw meaningful conclusions and present them publicly.

2. Teamwork: exchanging information, ideas and proposals in a work team to achieve scientific and/or professional objectives.

3. Transmit information to a specialized or general public, both in writing and orally, in accordance with the linguistic rules in force, and with a level corresponding to a higher degree.



Learning results



1. The student dentifies the organizational levels of nature, from the individual to the ecosystem.

2. The student describes and understands the physicochemical processes that structure and drive ecosystems’ dynamics.

3. The student establishes and understands the interrelationships between the different components of the ecosystem that structure it and make it function.

4. The student analyzes qualitatively and quantitatively structural and functional aspects of the different organizational levels.

5. The student works in groups both in the field and in the laboratory.

6. The student obtains samples in nature following the methodology corresponding to the study to be carried out.

7. The student learns the basic rules of working in a laboratory.

8. The student analyzes in a systematic and standardized way the samples obtained in order to obtain reliable and comparable data.

9. The student processes the data obtained by applying statistical techniques.

10. The student prepares a report, following established guidelines, reflecting the main aspects of the practical work performed.

11. The student searches and manages the necessary bibliographic sources to support the work.

12. The student exposes and defends publicly the work carried out.

Theoretical content



BLOCK I. INTRODUCTION

Lesson 1: Ecology. A Science of Nature

BLOCK II. ENVIRONMENT AND ORGANISMS

Lesson 2: A changing environment

Lesson 3: The Biosphere

Lesson 4: Response of organisms

Lesson 5: Evolution

BLOCK III. POPULATION

Lesson 6: Population. Growth and Regulation

BLOCK IV. INTERACTIONS

Lesson 7: Competition

Lesson 8: Exploitation

Lesson 9: Other symbiotic interactions

BLOCK V. THE COMMUNITY

Lesson 10: Abundance and Diversity of species

Lesson 11: Community structure and dynamics

BLOCK VI. THE ENERGY FLOW

Lesson 12: Primary Production

Lesson 13: Secondary production

Lesson 14: Trophic structure

Lesson 15: Biogeochemical cycles



Practical content



The practical contents are structured around a soil research study.



Field practices (0,3 ECTS)

Soil sampling in the area of Olarizu (Gasteiz, Araba).



Laboratory practices (1,7 ECTS)

Laboratory practices are distributed in four sessions. The following variables will be quantified in the laboratory:

-pH

-Field capacity

-Organic and inorganic matter content of the soil

-Texture

-Water content

-Quantification of plant necromass per surface area

-Organic and inorganic matter content of the plant necromass

-Edaphic fauna



Computer practices (0,5 ECTS)

Statistical analysis of data obtained in the field and laboratory.



Seminars (0,5 ECTS)

Defense of the practical work carried out with field and laboratory data.



Classroom practices (0,4 ECTS)

Practical exercises to reinforce the theoretical contents.

In lectures the basic contents of the course will be explained with the aid of slides that will be available to students through e-gela. Participation, critical thought and exploration of links with other subjects will be encouraged, by setting out questions to students in the lecture room.

Students will have to solve numerical exercises set out by the lecturer as part of their individual home work. Lecture room practical sessions will be devoted to solving these exercises in a cooperative way (lecturers and students).

Field work, laboratory practicals and computer sessions are used to complete the different stages of a research work in the field of ecology. Field work will be used to obtain field samples and these samples will be analysed in the laboratory using standard methods. This will allow students to acquire basic knowledge and skills in the field of ecological research. Computer sessions will be devoted to analyzing the data using basic spreadsheet and statistical methods, in order to get to a correct interpretation of results. The results will then be put together in a report that will be written up by small groups of students, according to standard formats of scientific report write-up (guidelines documents available to students in e-gela).

Seminar sessions will be devoted to the oral presentation of the practical work (guideline document available in e-gela). This will promote skills related to oral communication skills, ability for synthesis and team work.

Assessment system:

-Written examinations

This course will be assessed according to the mixed assessment system. It includes the following:

Final written exam: 60 % of the final grade. This written exam will be comprehensive for the course. It will consist of different types of questions, e.g. multiple choice questions, short answer questions, essay type of questions, problems questions.

Practical work: 40 % of the final grade.

The final grade will be obtained from the weighted mean of the final written exam grade and the practical work grade, provided that in each of the two activities a minimum grade of of 40% (unweighted) is obtained. The training assessment will be carried out providing improvement guidelines for the work delivered. Students will be able to make changes to the original works, handing in new improved versions.

Regarding exceptions and withdrawals regulations in force of the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) and its Faculty of Pharmacy will apply:

"En el caso de evaluación continua, si el peso de la prueba final es superior al 40% de la calificación de la asignatura, bastará con no presentarse a dicha prueba final para que la calificación final de la asignatura sea no presentado o no presentada. En caso contrario, si el peso de la prueba final es igual o inferior al 40% de la calificación de la asignatura, el alumnado podrá renunciar a la convocatoria en un plazo que, como mínimo, será hasta un mes antes de la fecha de finalización del periódo docente de la asignatura correspondiente. Esta renuncia deberá presentarse por escrito ante el profesorado responsable de la asignatura."

Lab coat must be worn during laboratory practicals.

Basic bibliography

Begon, M., Townsend, C.R. y Harper, J.L. (2006). Ecology: From individuals to ecosystems. 4th ed. Blackwell Publishing Ltd, MA, USA, 738 pp.

Brower, J.E., Zar, J.H. y Ende, C.N. von (1998). Field and laboratory methods for general ecology. 4¿ ed. WCB-McGraw-Hill, Boston, Mass, 273 pp.

Cox, C.B. y Moore, P.D. (2000). Biogeography. An ecological and evolutionary approach. 7th ed. Blackwell Publishing Ltd, MA, USA, 428 pp.

Dajoz, R. (2002). Tratado de ecología 2º ed. Mundi-Prensa, Madrid, 600 pp.

Magurran, A.E. (2004). Measuring biological diversity. Blackwell Publishing Ltd, MA, USA, 256 pp.

Molles, M.C. Jr. (2008). Ecology: Concepts & applications. 4th ed. McGraw-Hill Companies Inc, New York, 604 pp.

Primack, R.B. y Ros, J. (2002). Introducci¿ la biolog¿de la conservaci¿Ariel Ciencia, Barcelona, 375 pp.

Pullin, A.S. (2002). Conservation Biology. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 345 pp.

Ricklefs, R.E. (2007). The economy of nature. 5th ed. W.H Freeman and Company, New York, 550 pp.

Rodr¿ez, J. (2010). Ecolog¿ 2¿ ed. Pir¿de, Madrid, 502 pp.

Smith, T.M. y Smith, R.L. (2007). Ecolog¿ 6¿ ed. Pearson Educaci¿.A., Madrid, 776 pp.

Stiling, P. (2002). Ecology. Theories and Applications. 2nd ed. Prentice-Hall, Inc. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 403 pp.

In-depth bibliography

-Akcakaya, H.R., Burgman, M.A. y Ginzburg, L.R. (1999). Applied population ecology. Principles and computer exercises. Sinauer Associates, Inc. Massachusetts.
-Alberti, M. (2008). Advances in urban Ecology. Springer.
-Allaby, M. (2010). Dictionary of Ecology. 4th ed. Oxford University Press, New York.
-Allan, J.D. y Castillo, M. (2007). Stream ecology. Structure and function of running waters. 2nd ed. Springer, Dordrecht.
-Duarte, C.M. (2006). Cambio global: Impacto de la actividad humana sobre el sistema Tierra. CSIC
-Gotelli, N.J. y Ellison, A.M. (2013). A primer of ecological statistics. 2nd ed. Sinauer Associates, Inc. Massachusetts.
-Jeffers, J.N.R. (1991). Modelos en ecolog¿ Oikos-tau, Barcelona.
-Longhurst, A. (2006). Ecological geography of the sea. 2nd ed. Academic Press, London.
-McCune, B. y Grace, J.B. (2002). Analysis of ecological communities. MjM Software Desing, Oregon.
-McLusky, D.S. y Elliott, M. (2004). The estuarine Ecosystem. Ecology, threats and management. 3th ed. Oxford University Press, New York.
-Perry, D.A., Oren, R. y Hart, S.C. (2008). Forest Ecosystems. The Johns Hopkins University Press.

Journals

-Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics
-Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution and Systematics
-Basic and Applied Ecology
-Current Advances in Ecological and Environmental Sciences
-Ecosystems
-Ecology
-Journal of Applied Ecology
-Journal of Ecology
-Nature
-Oikos
-Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
-Science
-Trends in Ecology & Evolution