ZD155 Biosphere (Botany, Zoology, (Landscape) Ecology)

Faculty of Science
Autumn 2023
Extent and Intensity
4/0/0. 12 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
RNDr. Jan Divíšek, Ph.D. (lecturer)
RNDr. Martin Culek, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
RNDr. Jan Divíšek, Ph.D.
Department of Geography – Earth Sciences Section – Faculty of Science
Contact Person: RNDr. Jan Divíšek, Ph.D.
Supplier department: Department of Geography – Earth Sciences Section – Faculty of Science
Prerequisites
Basic knowledges in Ecology and Biogeography.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
This course is designed to deepen students' knowledge in ecology and biogeography or related disciplines.
Learning outcomes
The student will be able to comprehensively describe, explain and critically evaluate the theories and concepts of his specialization in biogeography, ecology or related disciplines. The student will have a good knowledge of the state-of-the-art and will be able to discuss it and critically evaluate.
Syllabus
  • 1. Introduction – niche theory, interspecific interactions, population ecology, Theory of Metapopulations
  • 2. Areography and Species Distribution – mapping species distributions, types of distribution (zonal, disjunct, endemic, cosmopolitan, relict), vicariance, dispersal mechanisms, dispersal types, barriers, migration, biotic interchanges, irruptions
  • 3. Evolutionary Biogeography – micro- and macroevolution, mechanisms and types of speciation, convergence and divergence
  • 4. Geography of Communities – definition and delineation of a community, individualistic and organismal concept, niche theory and competitive exclusion, assembly rules, Theory of Metacommunity, global communities (biomes), local communities (phytosociology, phytosociological units, habitat classifications), altitudinal vegetation zones
  • 5. Geography of Biodiversity – alfa, beta and gamma diversity and their measurement, global biodiversity (estimations of the number of species on the Earth, mass extinctions, latitudinal gradient of species richness), regional and local biodiversity (effects of productivity and disturbances, regional effects on local species richness, Theory of Species Pool), species-area relationship, alpha and beta diversity at different spatial scales
  • 6. Island Biogeography – Equilibrium Theory of Island Biogeography, species-area relationship, species-isolation relationship, species turnover, oddities of island biotas
  • 7. Invasion Ecology – basic concepts and theories, Theory of Invasibility, Theory of Biotic Resistance, Darwin‘s Naturalization Hypothesis, Limiting Similarity Hypothesis
  • 8. Historical Biogeography – phylogeography, cladistic biogeography, biogeographical development of central Europe
  • 9. Biogeographical Regionalizations – delineation of biogeographical regions, biogeographical realms of the World, biogeographical regions of Europe, biogeographical division of the Czech Republic
  • 10. Biogeography and Nature Conservation – minimum viable population, SLOSS, global environmental changes
  • 11. Analytical Methods in Biogeography and Their Applications – univariate methods (regression methods), multivariate methods (ordination, classification), machine learning, species distribution modeling, null models in biogeography and macroecology
Literature
    required literature
  • LOMOLINO, Mark V., Brett R. RIDDLE and Robert J. WHITTAKER. Biogeography : biological diversity across space and time. Fifth edition. Sunderland: Sinauer Associates, Inc. Publishers, 2017, xv, 759. ISBN 9781605354729. info
  • BEGON, Michael, John L. HARPER and Colin R. TOWNSEND. Ekologie : jedinci, populace a společenstva. Translated by Bronislava Grygová - Barbara Köberleová - Zdeněk Brandl. 1. vyd. Olomouc: Vydavatelství Univerzity Palackého, 1997, xxiv, 949. ISBN 8070676957. info
    recommended literature
  • KREBS, Charles J. Ecology : the experimental analysis of distribution and abundance. 5th ed. San Francisco: Benjamin Cummings, 2001, xx, 695. ISBN 0321042891. info
  • GASTON, Kevin J. and John I. SPICER. Biodiversity : an introduction. 2nd ed. Oxford: Blackwell, 2004, xv, 191. ISBN 9781405118576. info
  • FRANKLIN, Janet and Jennifer A. MILLER. Mapping species distributions : spatial inference and prediction. 1st pub. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009, xviii, 320. ISBN 9780521700023. info
  • MACARTHUR, Robert H. and Edward O. WILSON. The theory of island biogeography. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 2001, xv, 203 s. ISBN 0-691-08836-5. info
  • WHITTAKER, Robert J. and José María FERNÁNDEZ-PALACIOS. Island biogeography : ecology, evolution, and conservation. 2nd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007, xii, 401. ISBN 9780198566120. info
  • Macroecology : concepts and consequences : the 43rd Annual Symposium of the British Ecological Society, held at the University of Birmingham, 17-19 April 2002. Edited by Tim M. Blackburn - Kevin J. Gaston. Malden, Mass.: Blackwell Publishing, 2003, xvii, 442. ISBN 0521549329. info
  • HUBBELL, Stephen P. The unified neutral theory of biodiversity and biogeography. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2001, xiv, 375 s. ISBN 0-691-02128-7. info
  • Scaling biodiversity. Edited by David Storch - P. A. Marquet - James H. Brown. 1st pub. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007, xvii, 470. ISBN 9780521876025. info
  • Conservation biogeography. Edited by Richard J. Ladle - Robert J. Whittaker. 1st pub. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell, 2011, x, 301. ISBN 9781444335033. info
  • LEGENDRE, Pierre and Louis LEGENDRE. Numerical ecology. 3rd engl. ed. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 2012, xvi, 990. ISBN 9780444538680. info
  • GUISAN, Antoine, Wilfried THUILLER and Niklaus Emanuel ZIMMERMANN. Habitat suitability and distribution models : with applications in R. Edited by Valeria Di Cola - Damien Georges - Achilleas Psomas. First published. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2017, xiii, 462. ISBN 9780521758369. info
    not specified
  • GASTON, Kevin J. The structure and dynamics of geographic ranges. 1st pub. New York [N.Y.]: Oxford University Press, 2003, x, 266. ISBN 0198526415. info
  • Invasion ecology. Edited by Julie L. Lockwood - Martha F. Hoopes - Michael P. Marchetti. 2nd ed. Chichester, West Sussex, UK: Wiley-Blackwell, 2013, 444 p. ISBN 9781118570838. info
Teaching methods
Self-study based on recommended literature
Assessment methods
Oral exam. For students elaborating their disertation theses in Biogeography or Lanscape Ecology main attention in the exam will be paid to topics No. 6-11 in the outline, being supposed knowledge from previous parts. For students eleborating theri disertation theses in other disciplines, the exam will deal preferably with topics No. 1-5 in the outline.
Language of instruction
Czech
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
The course is taught each semester.
Information on course enrolment limitations: jen pro studenty doktorského studijního programu
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2019, Spring 2020, Autumn 2020, Spring 2021, autumn 2021, Spring 2022, Autumn 2022, Spring 2023, Spring 2024, Autumn 2024, Spring 2025.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Autumn 2023, recent)
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