ECTS
4 credits
Component
Faculty of Science
Hourly volume
15h
Description
Ecophysiology is a discipline at the interface between organismal biology and ecology. Integrative ecophysiology focuses more particularly on the issue of scale change. In other words, the objective of this course is to illustrate how the study of acclimation/adaptation mechanisms at the individual (or even sub-individual) scale can explain the structure of populations, the distribution of species and the functioning of ecosystems. The responses of organisms and populations to the main abiotic structuring parameters (such as temperature, salinity, oxygen availability, pollutants) will be considered as well as their interactive effects. The role of interactions between organisms will also be addressed. In this course, animals, plants and microorganisms will be considered and different types of approaches will be illustrated: field observations, in situ or laboratory experiments.
Necessary pre-requisites
To know the mechanisms of ecophysiological adaptations at the individual level
Knowledge control
Be able to address the complexity of interactions between organisms and their environment, focusing on the response of different types of organisms (animals, plants, microorganisms) and the consequences at the ecosystem level.