Environmental Animal Physiology is a specialization of Animal Physiology. The subject deals with the general principles of the functional organization of animals in the frame of an environmental context, in order to identify the nature of the alterations of functional order produced by environmental variables (mainly abiotic ones) and to analyse the corresponding adaptative response mechanisms displayed by the animals. The basic requirements to study this subject are the general notions of animal physiology provided by the subjects in the 3rd year of Biology Bachelor: a) Fundamentals of Animal Physiology and b) Physiology of Animal Systems. On the other hand, to understand the behaviour of animal populations, as well as certain aspects of ecosystems functioning, the contents of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Cellular Biology, Zoology and Genetics are relevant for this course.

This subject provides the knowledge and tools necessary to face career opportunities in the field of aquaculture or animal production, marine research or animal ecotoxicology.

SPECIFIC COMPETENCIES

C1. To analyse the physiological behaviour of animal and the nature of their functional adaptations to the environment.

C2.To integrate the physiological, cellular and molecular principles and mechanisms involved in the regulation of animal functions.



CROSS COMPETENCIES

C3. To process and to interpret data from observations and measurements according to explanatory models.

C4. To prepare and write scientific-technical reports.





LEARNING RESULTS FOR THE SUBJECT

RA1. The student uses structures and norms in specialized written communication for the preparation of academic and/or scientific documents in both official and foreign languages.

RA2. The student uses inference from experimental data to make holistic descriptions of complex physiological responses (regulation or conformation; acute or chronic response).

RA3. The student argues about the influence of environmental variables on the physiology of animals (temperature, oxygen and water and electrolytes availability).

RA4. The student draws general conclusions by critically comparing the results obtained from the experiments with the scientific literature.

RA5. The student assertively defends his/her experiences and acquired knowledge using scientific-technical language.

RA6. The student argues about the social and environmental impact of the scientific-technical actions proposed in response to a specific environmental problem in the area of knowledge.

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

Definition of Environmental Animal Physiology. Environmental factors: The effect of environmental factors upon biological systems. Tolerance range and lethal levels. Acclimation. Physiological optimum. Regulation and Conformity: Homeostatic and homeokinetic responses. Stress consequences and criteria for evaluating it. Metabolism as integrated form of physiological response. Production and use of metabolic energy. Evaluation of energetic costs: basal costs vs. cost of activity. The allometry of basal metabolic rate. Theory on “Dynamic Energy Budget”





OXYGEN

Respiratory environment and oxygen availability: aerial vs aquatic media. Environmental hypoxia/anoxia. Oxyrregulation vs oxyconformity. Oxyrregulation mechanisms. Vascular transport of oxygen. Respiratory pigments and oxygen capacity. Dissociation curves. The role of respiratory pigments in oxyrregulation. Metabolic adaptations in relation to hypoxia and anoxia. Functional anaerobiosis vs environmental anaerobiosis.



TEMPERATURE

Responses to temperature fluctuation. Thermal effect on metabolic scope for activity. Homeotherms vs poikilotherms animals. Thermal tolerance vs. thermal compensation. Thermal acclimation in poikilotherms. Molecular mechanisms of thermal compensation in ectotherms: positive modulation of enzymes affinity for substrates, long-term qualitative and quantitative adjustments of enzyme activities, homeosviscous adaptation. Endothermic vs ectothermic animals. Thermal equilibrium and regulation in homeotherms. The thermoneutral zone. Integrated temperature regulation system.



WATER AND SALT AVAILABILITY

Osmotic relationships. Euryhalinity and stenohalinity. Osmotic conformity. General mechanisms of osmotic regulation. Osmotic regulation and water balances in terrestrial animals. Nitrogen excretion and water economy.





LABORATORY PRACTICES SYLLABUS:

Laboratory practices will be developed in various sessions through several weeks, with a total duration of 15h.

-Thermal acclimatization of metabolism in fish.

-Development of respirometric indices for the analysis of the oxyrregulatory capacity in aquatic organisms.

-Osmotic adjustments to salinity change in an osmoconcordant marine invertebrate.

The development of the syllabus includes the following methodology:

1.- Basic Principles of Environmental Animal Physiology: includes the contents of the Introduction and Metabolism chapters of the syllabus, developed through lecture-based teaching (M).

2.- The section corresponding to the environmental variables (oxygen, temperature and, economy of water and electrolytes) will be addressed with a "LEARNING THROUGH PROBLEM-SOLVING" methodology in which the topics of each section will be treated within the framework of a set of experimental data that builds up a "CASE STUDY". The treatment of these case studies will include the following activities:

A.- Presentation and development of the fundamental issues analysed in each case, identifying the type of physiological response and analysing the functional relationships of the physiological parameters and indices considered. To be developed through lecture-based teaching (M).

B.- Bibliographic search and compilation of basic information to focus on the studied issue. It will be carried out in the form of seminars (S) and personal work of the student.

C.- Data treatment through calculations and graphical output through spreadsheets which will be developed in applied classroom-based groups (GA) and personal work of the student.

D.- Presentation and discussion of the functional relationships involved in data treatments, all carried out in applied classroom-based groups (GA) supervised by the teacher.

E.- Preparation of written reports in scientific article format by small groups of students (non-contact activity), which they will have to deliver and which will be evaluated by the teacher. Students will defend their work in classroom-based groups (GA) and will recived the feedback about their written reports.



3.- In applied laboratory-based groups (GL), the students will perform physiological parameter measurements and develop analytical procedures from animals treated under simple experimental conditions (e.g., subjected to changes in temperature, water salinity or oxygen availability) and carry out a preliminary data treatment obtained using a computer. Laboratory work is assessed on the basis of an individual report submitted by the student.

• Continuous Assessment System
• Final Assessment System
• Tools and qualification percentages:
  • Written test to be taken (%): 50
  • Individual works (%): 10
  • Team projects (problem solving, project design)) (%): 40

Carrying out the laboratory practices is an essential condition to be evaluated in the rest of the activities,botu in the continuous evaluation and the final evaluation system.



The continuous evaluation of the subject will include the following sections:

Written exam of the contents: 50%

Evaluation of reports on case studies: 40%

Laboratory practice report: 10%



Special relevance is given to the written exam, it will be mandatory to attend to the written exam and obtaining a minimum grade of 4 out of 10 to take into account the rest of the activities, and to calculate the mean for the final mark.



The structure of the exam will be as follows: short questions, questions to be developed and exercises.

There will be no partial exams.



Students who renounce to the continuous evaluation and choose the End-of-course evaluation must submit their resignation in a writing to the responsible professor within 9 weeks from the beginning of the course. However, given the organization of this subject through case studies, it is recommended to communicate this decision within a period of 5 weeks since the start of the course.



Final evaluation will consist in questions and exercises about the contents (90% the mark) and a questionnaire about laboratory work (10% of the mark).



Whether or not the case study reports are made and evaluated, the non-attendance to the written exam will be considered as voluntary waiver of the evaluation call and will be recorded as a Not Presented.



During the development of the evaluation tests, the use of books, notes, as well as telephone, electronic, computer or other devices or devices, by the students will be prohibited. Only the use of a calculator is allowed. In the case of dishonest or fraudulent practices, the protocol on academic ethics and prevention of dishonest or fraudulent practices in assessment tests and in academic work at the UPV/EHU will be applied.

The extraordinary call is regulated by the same evaluation criteria as the ordinary call. The qualifications obtained in the case studies and practical work will be maintained.



The non-attendance to the written exam will be considered as voluntary waiver of the evaluation call and will be recorded as a Not Presented.



During the development of the evaluation tests, the use of books, notes, as well as telephone, electronic, computer or other devices or devices, by the students will be prohibited. Only the use of a calculator is allowed. In the case of dishonest or fraudulent practices, the protocol on academic ethics and prevention of dishonest or fraudulent practices in assessment tests and in academic work at the UPV/EHU will be applied.

Computer that has EXCEL program. Calculator.

Basic bibliography

HILL, R.W., WISE, G.A. & ANDERSON, M., 2006. Fisiología Animal. Harper & Row Publishers, N.Y.

RANDALL, D., BURGGREM, W. & FRENCH, K., 2002. ECKERT Animal Physiology. Mechanisms and adaptations. 5th ed. Freeman & Co.

SCHMIDT-NIELSEN, K. 1997. Animal physiology. Adaptation to environment,.5th Ed. Cambridge University Press. London.

SOMERO, G.N, LOCKWOOD B.L, TOMAMEK L., 2017. Biochemical adaptation: Response to Environmental Challenges from Lifes´s Origins to the Anthropocene. Sinauer Associates, Inc.

WILLMER, P., STONE, G.& FRENCH, K. 2005. Environmental physiology of animals. 2nd ed. Blackwell

In-depth bibliography

BLAKE, R. W. (Ed.) (1991). "Efficiency and economy in animal physiology" Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
HOCHACHKA, PW & SOMERO, GN. 2002. Biochemical adaptation. Mechanisms and processes in biochemical evolution. Oxford University Press.
KOOIJMAN, S. A. L. M. (1993). "Dynamic energy budgets in biological systems". Cambridge Univ. Press
LOUW, G. 1993. Physiological Animal Ecology.
Mc NAB, BK. 2002. The physiological ecology of vertebrates. A view from energetic. Longman
PROSSER, C.L. (ed.) (1991). "Comparative animal physiology". Wiley, Nueva York.

Journals

ANNUAL REVIEW OF PHYSIOLOGY.
COMPARATIVE BIOCHEMISTRY AND PHYSIOLOGY.
JOURNAL OF PHYSIOLOGY.
JOURNAL OF PHYSIOLOGY AND BIOCHEMISTRY.
REGULATORY INTEGRATIVE AND COMPARATIVE PHYSIOLOGY.
PHYSIOLOGICAL AND BIOCHEMICAL ZOOLOGY.
PHYSIOLOGICAL REVIEWS.
MARINE AND FRESHWATER BEHAVIOUR AND PHYSIOLOGY.
JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE PHYSIOLOGY.
INTEGRATIVE AND COMPARATIVE PHYSIOLOGY.
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL MARINE BIOLOGY AND ECOLOGY.
JOURNAL OF PHYSIOLOGY LONDON.
JOURNAL OF APPLIED PHYSIOLOGY.
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL ZOOLOGY.

Web addresses

www.pnas.org/
www.sciam.com/
www.cell.com/
www.neuron.org/
www.nature.com/index.html
www.sciencemag.org/