Programme

BASIC AND APPLIED ZOOLOGY. EVOLUTION AND EVOLUTIONARY THEORIES. STRUCTURAL LEVELS OF THE ANIMAL DIVERSITY. POPULATION AND SPECIES; PHENETIC, GENETIC AND GEOGRAPHIC VARIATION; NATURAL SELECTION AND EVOLUTION; MICRO- AND MACROEVOLUTION; REPRODUCTIVE ISOLATION. ANAGENESIS AND CLADOGENESIS; “CLASSIC” EVOLUTION MODEL AND PUNCTUATED EQULIBRIUM THEORY. ADAPTATION AS RESULT OF EVOLUTIONARY PROCESSES; ADAPTIVE STRATEGIES IN MARINE, FRESHWATER AND TERRESTRIAL HABITATS; CRYPTIC COLOURATION AND CAMOUFLAGE; APOSEMATISM AND MIMICRY; ADAPTIVE RADIATION. MORPHOLOGY AD ADAPTATION OF THE FOLLOWING FUNCTIONAL SYSTEMS: FEEDING, RESPIRATION, LOCOMOTION AND DISPERSAL. ADAPTIVE CONVERGENCE, HOMOLOGY AND ANALOGY. SEXUAL AND ASEXUAL REPRODUCTION; FERTILIZATION; POSTEMBRIONIC DEVELOPMENT; DEVELOPMENTAL CYCLES. PRINCIPLES OF ANIMAL ECOLOGY: AUTOECOLOGY: ECOLOGICAL NICHE; SYNECOLOGY: STRUCTURE AND DYNAMICS OF ANIMAL COMMUNITIES; INTERSPECIFIC (COMPETITION, PREDATION, PARASITISM) AND INTRASPECIFIC RELATIONSHIPS. DYNAMICS OF ANIMAL POPULATIONS. ANIMAL COLONIES AND SOCIETIES. PRINCIPLES OF ETHOLOGY: INNATE AND LEARNED BEHAVIOUR, ANIMAL COMMUNICATION, SEXUAL BEHAVIOUR, PARENTAL BEHAVIOUR; HOME RANGE AND TERRITORIALITY, ORIENTATION BEHAVIOUR. PRINCIPLES OF ZOOGEOGRAPHY: HISTORICAL AND DYNAMIC CAUSES OF ANIMAL DISTRIBUTION; SPECIES RANGE; DISPERSION AND DISPERSAL, BARRIERS AND COLONIZATION. ANIMAL PHYLOGENY: METHODS AND RULES OF TAXONOMY AND SYSTEMATICS. CRITICAL ISSUES IN METAZOAN PHYLOGENY. OVERRVIEW ON BAUPLAN, FUNCTIONAL MORPHOLOGY AND BIOLOGY OF THE MAIN PROTOZOAN AND METAZOAN TAXA.
DEEPENING OF MAIN MORPHOLOGIC AND ECOLOGIC TRAITS (MODULE 1) AT CLASS LEVEL OR AT ORDER LEVEL FOR ARTHROPODA): PROTOZOA; PORIFERA AND NOTES ON PLACOZOA AND MESOZOA; CNIDARIA; CTENOPHORA; PLATHYELMINTHES; NEMERTEA; MOLLUSCA; ANELLIDA; NOTES ON MINOR TAXA OF “ASCHELMINTES”; ONYCOPHORA AND RELATED TAXA; NEMATODA; NEMATOMORPHA; ARTHROPODA; LOPHOPHORATA; ECHINODERMATA; CHORDATA

Core Documentation

Any recent book of Zoology including aspects of Evolutionary Biology, genrale and systematic Zoology.
Eg.: ARGANO R. ET AL. ZOOLOGIA, VOL. 1: EVOLUZIONE E ADATTAMENTO; VOL. 2: DIVERSITA’ ANIMALE). MONDUZZI ED.
HICKMAN ET AL. ZOOLOGIA. McGraw-Hill Education ED
Useful for practices is: PSABELLI, 2009. ATLANTE DI DIVERSITA’ E MORFOLOGIA DEGLI INVERTEBRATI, PICCIN ED.

Type of delivery of the course

Lessons in the hall and practices in the lab on micro-macro zoological samples. The MODULE 1 of ZOOLOGY consists of 6 credits (CFU) of frontal lessons (48 hours on the whole), based on Power Point slides. The MODULE 2 of ZOOLOGY consists of 2 credits (CFU) of frontal lessons (16 hours on the whole), based on Power Point slides. THE THIRD PART OF THE COURSE (SYSTEMATICS) INCLUDES UNTIL SIX LABORATORY PRACTICES. EVENTUALLY, ONE DAILY FIELD EXPERIENCE WILL BE CARRIED OUT AT THE END OF THE COURSE. LAB PRACTICAL ACTIVITIES CONCERN THE EXAMINATION OF SLIDES AND PRESERVED SPECIMENS OF ALL STUDIED TAXONOMIC GROUPS, AND POSSIBLY ANATOMICAL DISSECTIONS OF DEAD SPECIMENS. THE FIELD EXPERIENCE IS AIMED TO SHOW SPECIES DIVERSITY AND ECOLOGICAL ASSEMBLAGES USING TERRESTRIAL VERTEBRATES (ESPECIALLY BIRDS) AS MODEL.

Type of evaluation

Questions concerning the whole programme and diagnoses at phylum and class of zoological samples (macro/micro)