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HU Credits:
3
Degree/Cycle:
1st degree (Bachelor)
Responsible Department:
Agroecology & Plant Health
Semester:
1st Semester
Teaching Languages:
Hebrew
Campus:
Rehovot
Course/Module Coordinator:
Moshe Coll
Coordinator Office Hours:
By appointment
Teaching Staff:
Prof Moshe Coll,
Ms.
Course/Module description:
Introduction to the ecological processes that shape the distribution and abundance of animals, using insects as a model: Insect-plant and predator-prey interactions; competition; population dynamics; behavioral ecology; communities and bio-geography. The course emphasizes the ecological processes in agro-ecosystems, such as plant resistance to insect pests, biological pest control, landscape structure and ecosystem services.
Course/Module aims:
To teach the basic processes that shape the structure and function of ecological systems; Present the principles of hypothesis testing and the scientific method; Practice scientific writing; Demonstrate the importance of ecological principles to processes in agroecosystems.
Learning outcomes - On successful completion of this module, students should be able to:
• Define different organization levels in ecosystems.
• Describe spatial and temporal patterns of interactions in ecological systems.
• Distinguish between the structure and function of ecological communities.
• Formulate ecological hypotheses.
• Carry out a simple experiment to test a hypothesis.
• Summarize experimental results in a scientific report.
• Contrast ecological processes in managed and unmanaged ecosystems.
Attendance requirements(%):
100%, excluding drop-add-course period
Teaching arrangement and method of instruction:
Lecture, practice
Course/Module Content:
Lesson and Practice Content
1: Introduction – Why ecology of insects? Insects in the ecosystem; the scientific method
Practice 1: Formulation of testable scientific hypotheses
2: Behavioral ecology – foraging, mating systems, sexual selection, parental care
3: Sociality in Insects – degree of sociality, evolution of sociality, kin selection
Practice 2: Estimating population size I – computer simulation: mark-release-recapture
4: Insect-plant interactions I – the plant as an heterogeneous resource, the chemical basis to insect-plant interactions
Practice 3: Estimating population size II – patterns of distribution; computer simulation: sampling
5: Insect-plant interactions II – theories in plant defense, plant adaptation to plant defenses
Practice 4: Developing population sampling protocols
6: Exam – practices 2-4; Insect-plant interactions III – coevolution of insect-plant interactions; induced resistance; host range and speciation; effects of vegetation structure
7: Predator-prey interactions I – prey defense; predator influence on prey distribution
8: Predator-prey interactions II – Functional & Numerical responses; predator-prey dynamics
9: Predator-prey interactions III – Ecological basis for biological control; predation vs. parasitism
10: Demography & population dynamics – rate of population increase, survival curves, life-table analysis, dynamics in time and space, metapopulations.
11: Life history – resource allocation, reproduction, migration, diapause; Competition – ecological niche, mutualism
12: Insect communities – structure and function
13: Complex trophic interactions; Species diversity and insect conservation; insect as providers of ecosystem services
14: Scientific writing
Practice 5: Research methods in insect ecology
Required Reading:
None
Additional Reading Material:
Gutierrez AP. 1996. Applied population ecology: a supply-demand approach. John Wiley & Sons.
Hassell MP. 1978. The dynamics of arthropod predator-prey systems. Monographs in population biology, 13. Princeton University Press.
Huffaker RL & Rabb RL. 1984. Ecological entomology. John Wiley & Sons.
Jolivet P. 1986. Insects and plants: parallel evolution and adaptations. Flora & Fauna Handbook no. 2.
Kogan M. 1986. Ecological theory and integrated pest management practice. John Wiley & Sons.
Miller JR & Miller TA. 1986. Insect-plant interactions. Springer-Verlag.
Price PW. 1975. Evolutionary strategies of parasitic insects and mites. Plenum Press.
Price PW, Denno RF, Eubanks MD, Finke DL & Kaplan I. 2011. Insect Ecology: Behavior, Populations and Communities. Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, UK 801pp.
Schowalter TD. 2006. Insect Ecology: An Ecosystem Approach. 2nd ed. Academic Press.
Speight MR, Hunter M & Watt AD. 1999. Ecology of Insects: Concepts and Applications. Blackwell.
Strong DR, Lawton JH & Southwood R. 1984. Insects on plans: community, patterns and mechanisms. Harvard University Press.
Valery GC, Gradwell GR & Hassell MP. 1975. Insect population ecology: an analytical approach. Blackwell Scientific Pub.
Course/Module evaluation:
End of year written/oral examination 50 %
Presentation 0 %
Participation in Tutorials 20 %
Project work 0 %
Assignments 15 %
Reports 0 %
Research project 0 %
Quizzes 15 %
Other 0 %
Additional information:
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