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Lecturer(s)
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Košťál Vladimír, prof. Ing. CSc.
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Course content
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Content of lectures: 1) Definitions and terms. (2) Temporal structure of organisms. (3, 4) Seasonal life cycles, migrations, dormamcies. (5, 6) Thermal biology of ectotherms, adaptations to polar habitats. (7, 8) Thermal biology of endotherms, hibernation. (9, 10) Water and osmobiology, adaptations to life in deserts and salt lakes. (11) Hypoxia and anoxia, adaptations to anaerobic life. (12) Hydrostatic pressure, barotolerance, diving response, adaptations to life in deep ocean.
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Learning activities and teaching methods
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Monologic (reading, lecture, briefing), Dialogic (discussion, interview, brainstorming), Projection, Case studies
- Preparation for exam
- 25 hours per semester
- Class attendance
- 10 hours per semester
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Learning outcomes
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On the principles of acclimations and adaptations, which allow animals to survive cyclic changes of environmental conditions (tidal, diel, lunar, seasonal, ...) and environmental extremes (temperatures, lack of water and food, high osmolarity, high pressures, lack of oxygen, ...). The mechanisms will be explained starting from gene expression, through cell and metabolic functions, organ systems to whole organism (behaviour, morphology, ...). Key principles will be displayed using model animals (invertebrates, vertebrates including human). The response of an individual organism will be in the focus, however, the ecological, population and evolutionary consequences will also be considered.
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Prerequisites
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unspecified
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Assessment methods and criteria
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Combined exam
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Recommended literature
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Hochachka P.W., Somero G.N. (2002). Biochemical Adaptation: Mechanisms and Process in Physiological Evolution. Oxford University Press, Oxford..
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Schmidt-Nielsen K. (1997). Animal Physiology: Adaptation and Environment. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge..
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Willmer P., Stone G., Johnston I. (2000). Environmental Physiology of Animals. Oxford: Blackwell Science Ltd., 2000.
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