S4L2SVBE

This course is an extension of the L2 S3 course, which focuses on describing the morpho-anatomical characteristics of the major organizational plans of metazoans found in present and past faunas, as well as explaining their origin and dynamics of appearance through the acquisition of skills in paleontology and zoology. In S4, the course will mainly explore the major subdivisions within the protostomian organisms that are the lophotrochozoa (molluscan annelids, brachiopods,...) and the ecdysozoa (arthropods, nematodes,...), while underlining their phylogenetic relationships as well as their importance or socio-economic impacts. The UE is classically divided into lectures, tutorials that will mainly aim at illustrating and supporting aspects related to the biodiversity of taxa and practical work in sessions aiming at the acquisition of skills, in particular and obligatorily through the realization of some dissections.

See full page

The objective of this course is to understand evolutionary processes, both at the micro- and macro-evolutionary scales.

Based on examples, manipulations and accessible modeling, the lessons will aim at presenting in a concrete and quantitative way the effects of the 4 evolutionary forces operating at the scale of individuals and populations (mutation, migration, selection and drift). The integration of these micro-evolutionary processes at larger time scales (e.g. differentiation between lineages, speciation) will then be addressed. Finally, the course will include an introduction to the tools of phylogeny (reading and construction of trees) allowing the study of macro-evolutionary events (diversification, extinction) and the tracing of changes in character states, notably by integrating fossil data.

See full page

In this course, students will learn about the links between the genetic makeup of an individual and the development of its morphology, physiology, and lifestyle. The focus will be on understanding the links between the information carried by the genome and the life cycle of the organism under consideration, through the cellular characteristics corresponding to the expression of the genetic information. These data will be placed in an evolutionary framework and will shed light on some major evolutionary transitions, particularly in metazoans.

See full page

The functional ecology course aims to provide a solid foundation in the functioning of terrestrial ecosystems, and in particular the role played by living organisms in the flow of matter within them. The main processes covered are primary production, consumption and in particular herbivory, and the process of decomposition and transformation of soil organic matter. For each of these processes, particular attention is paid to (1) the link between the strategies of the organisms and their function in the ecosystem, and (2) basing the presentation of concepts on field observations, highlighting characteristics of the organisms or the ecosystem that students might encounter during a field trip.

This UE is thus inserted between a broader presentation of ecology in S1 (HLBE304) and brings notions necessary to the UE of L3 of ecology of the communities.

Emphasis is placed on practical aspects, notably through a series of group assignments, where a simple but scientifically relevant hypothesis will be tested experimentally using an appropriate protocol.

See full page

This course is a natural continuation of the "Description of variability" course presented in S3. Its aim is to provide the concepts and methods underpinning modern biostatistics, i.e. the quantification of randomness, which is an omnipresent issue in the life sciences. This course will provide an introduction to inferential statistics: parametric and non-parametric tests, linear regression, analysis of variance. Particular attention will be paid to the conditions of application of these methods, as well as to the notions of type I and II errors, power, replication and confidence intervals. Each notion will be illustrated by analysis of real and diversified biological data, contributing to the biostatistical culture useful for training critical thinking with regard to scientific results. In addition to training in this reference language and the statistical tools it implements, practical work in R will enable students to understand what they have learned in class and apply the methods presented.

See full page

See full page

See full page

The objective of this course is to introduce the concepts and tools necessary to observe and describe minerals and magmatic and metamorphic rocks and to understand their genesis. The course will begin with an introduction to the concepts of mineralogy (crystallography, crystallochemistry) and the tools needed to identify the minerals that make up magmatic and metamorphic rocks. You will then study the structure and nature of the mantle as well as the processes involved from the formation of magmas to the eruption of magmatic rocks: partial melting processes, crystallization, crustal assimilation, magmatic mixing. You will learn to distinguish the different magmatic series by their chemical compositions and physical properties. The link between eruptive processes, hazards and volcanic risks will also be discussed. In a third part, we will introduce the main variables (pressure, temperature, time) and the different geodynamic contexts of metamorphism. We will see the different metamorphic facies, structures and textures of metamorphic rocks, and you will learn to recognize mineral reactions and interpret them in terms of metamorphic evolution.

The coupled study of magmatic and metamorphic rocks will provide the basis for understanding issues related to the geodynamics of the inner Earth, geochemical cycles, mineral resources ...

See full page

The UE approaches the history of plants, on the one hand in a diachronic way, by studying each of the great geological periods (Paleozoic, Mesozoic, Cenozoic), and on the other hand, in a transversal way, by deepening certain methods of study of the paleoenvironments (macroflora, palynology, climate, geochemistry, biomechanics).

After an introductory lecture, the lectures present the history of plants by major geological period (Lecture 2 - 3: Paleozoic; Lecture 4 - 5: Mesozoic; Lecture 6 - 8: Cenozoic) and cross-cutting approaches (Lecture 9 - 10: Isotope geochemistry; Lecture 11 - 12: Biomechanics).

The practical exercises illustrate, on the basis of the study of fossil records, examples of paleoenvironmental reconstitution: Practical exercise 1, Paleozoic macroflora (Graissessac); Practical exercise 2-3, Early Pleistocene macroflora (Bernasso); Practical exercise 4, Recent Pleistocene pollen (La Gourre); Practical exercise 5, Holocene geochemistry.

See full page

The objective of this course is to understand the mechanisms used by organisms to cope with the constraints of the aquatic environment. Using animal (mollusks, crustaceans, fish) and plant (macro- and microalgae, aquatic angiosperms) models, this course will address the different dimensions of the adaptive biology of organisms, ranging from acclimatization and adaptation to change, to physiological limits and optimization of phenotypic traits in response to environmental constraints. This EU aims to study: 

- major concepts and approaches in ecophysiology ;

- ecophysiological responses (from gene expression to organism performance and behavior) using various aquatic ecosystems (intertidal, estuarine, polar, cavernicolous and abyssal) as examples;

- the integration of structure-function relationships in a given environmental context.

On a practical level, this course will allow students to study the functioning of organisms through simple physiological measurements and to learn how to set up experiments. Presentations of scientific articles chosen by the teachers will complete the knowledge acquired in class. 

See full page

This course presents the biology of eukaryotic parasitic organisms, taking into account their diversity. We will deal with unicellulars as well as vertebrates.

In addition to the physiological, anatomical and morphological aspects, a great deal of attention will be paid to the description of their life cycles, which imperatively require a transmission phase to an obligatory host.

See full page

The objective is to provide students with knowledge on the biology, ecology and evolution of three taxonomic groups in question. Beyond the identification of species (which will be largely addressed), this course will deal with the evolution and systematics of the taxonomic group in question, fundamental ecology (evolutionary and functional ecology), applied ecology (conservation), physiology, legislation as well as methods of study and identification.

After a general introduction course, 2 axes of work will be proposed in parallel. One will focus on the Mediterranean flora, the other on the fauna (amphibians, reptiles and birds).

Flora

The French Mediterranean region contains more than 2/3 of the richness of the flora of metropolitan France. This course is an introduction to this exceptional diversity and to the underlying mechanisms. It is designed to enable students to 1. describe a plant in order to identify useful characteristics and 2. use different identification tools and understand their strengths and limitations. The teaching will integrate innovative pedagogical approaches, by coupling the use of traditional tools (paper flora) and digital tools (FloreNum, PlantNet), in order to allow a learning adapted to the knowledge of the student (from the beginner to the informed amateur). The identification of species will constitute a basis to study their biology, their ecology and to approach the concepts of evolution and phylogeny. For this, workshops will be conducted in parallel with the practical sessions: 1. construction of a morphological classification to be compared with the classical classifications (morphological and phylogenetic), 2. introduction to the ecology of species through a habitat approach, and 3. diachronic study of developmental biology by monitoring the growth of wild species planted under controlled conditions.

Animals

The objective is for the student to acquire/improve a body of knowledge on the biology of birds, amphibians and reptiles, which constitute models of choice in fundamental ecology (ethology, evolutionary ecology, functional ecology), applied ecology (conservation biology) and environmental education/teaching. Beyond the identification of species, this axis of work will deal with the evolution and systematics of these taxa, their physiology, their ecological and behavioral particularities.

Each group (Fauna - Flora) will have at its disposal 12 hours of field trips (half of which will be common to both groups) to be carried out according to modalities to be defined (4 half-day trips, or 2 long one-day trips). The practical work could be set up on sites of the university (university campus - Labex CEMEB experimental field at the CEFE - Botanical Garden) favourable to the study of the various organisms.

Cross-cutting concept

The UE is organized around a notion common to both groups of practical work which, through a reversed class, will allow to start from the observed species in order to identify central concepts in conservation biology. In S4, the distribution (chorology) and the notion of rarity at different spatial scales will be addressed. These notions will support methodological questions concerning the estimation of the abundance of organisms. For this, the students will present at the end of the sequence a taxon of their choice, among those proposed in the UE, which illustrates the notion of distribution.

See full page

The aim of the course is to link knowledge of biology and physiology with demography and population evolution. This approach aims to lay the groundwork for conservation biology, by providing elements to predict how organisms and populations of animals and plants respond to ecosystem changes and stressors.

Educational forms:

Tutorials in the form of presentation and discussion of scientific data or in a "reversed" form with interventions of small groups, projects by groups in autonomy, analyses of concrete cases of restoration;

TD1 : presentation of the UE : concepts, activities, pedagogical forms. Establishment of the program of the reversed TD

TD2: Ecophysiology and environmental physiology (definitions); case studies (invasive species, reintroductions, ecological management)

TD3: Analysis of the consequences of major pollution (marine and terrestrial), ecological engineering, passive and active biomonitoring tools.

TD4 to 16: In a "reversed" form (students in an "active" position, complements by the teacher), a series of interventions aiming at setting up

- the links between biology and life strategy on the one hand and life history traits on the other, taking several characteristic examples (animal and plant species, generalist/specialist species, rare - types of rarity - or widespread or even invasive species);

- the construction of the demography of a population

- changes in the demographics of a population as a result of various disturbances, including long-term disturbances affecting the population's ability to change.

Two TD sessions (3h in total): analysis of different conservation and biomonitoring strategies taking into account knowledge of organism physiology as well as ecological and behavioral particularities. Research & analysis of documents, synthesis and restitution of studies in oral discussion

Practical work: plant ecophysiological analyses, animal ecophysiological analyses with non-invasive approaches (behavior, physiological and bioenergetic analyses).

See full page

See full page

See full page

The EU deals with the different groups of plants ("algae", "cryptogams", spermatophytes), specifying for each of them their position and their phylogenetic nature (mono- or paraphyletic group), their origin and their specificities on the morpho-anatomical, reproductive and ecological levels

4 CMs present the different groups of plants: CM1, diversity of "algae"; CM2, biological cycles of "algae"; CM3, "cryptogams"; CM4, Spermatophytes.

6 TDs deal with transversal notions based on oral or written exercises: TD1, Biological cycles; TD2, Endosymbiosis; TD3, Interactions; TD4, Adaptation; TD5, Polyploidy; TD6, Phylogeny.

6 practical exercises illustrate the concepts covered in the lectures and practical exercises with living material: TP1, "algae "1 ; TP2, "algae "2 ; TP3, "bryophytes" ; TP4, "pteridophytes" ; TP5, Gymnosperms, vegetative apparatus ; TP6, Gymnosperms, reproduction.

See full page