Department of Biology & Biochemistry, Unit Catalogue 2008/09 |
BB10157 Biodiversity |
| Credits: 12 |
| Level: Certificate |
| Academic Year |
| Assessment: EX 90%, MC 10%, PR 0% |
| Requisites: |
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Aims: To introduce prokaryote life forms. Explore fungal growth forms, life styles and reproductive strategies. To review the diversity among the Protista and define their relationship to other living things. To demonstrate the diversity of invertebrate and vertebrate animals and explore key aspects of structure and function in representative groups at each level of organization. To explore the diversity of form, function and structure in the Plant Kingdom. To examine the structure, lifestyle, replication and transmission of viruses.
Learning Outcomes: After taking this course the student should be able to: * debate the principles behind the domain theory of the "tree of life" * discuss bacterial growth in terms of nutritional requirement and the influence of physicochemical factors on growth and survival * demonstrate an appreciation of how and why Protists may be classified in more than one "Kingdom" and an understanding of the major themes in this diverse grouping * describe aspects of structure and function which contribute to the success of animals at different levels of complexity * give an account of the defining features of the major groups of plants within the context of evolution * explain the importance of fungi to the productivity and biodiversity of ecosystems and how and why fungi form mutualistic and parasitic relationships with other organisms * explain why viruses are difficult to treat compared to diseases caused by bacteria and answer the question "is a virus alive?" Skills: aseptic technique, use of microscopes, dissection, working collaboratively (in groups), evaluating evidence (e.g. by exploring the data used to support classification of living things), report writing. Content: Introduction: Classification of life - how many kingdoms? Protists: the evolution of multicellularity and beyond Viruses: properties and life cycles Fungi: an outline of form and function Bacteria and Archaea: relationship to the other domains of cell-based life; bacterial cell shapes and size, ubiquity and adaptability; methods for their visualisation; anatomy, from chromosome to capsule, via ribosome's, cytoplasmic inclusions, cell membrane, cell wall, pili, flagella and endospores; growth/cultivation; nutritional requirements, modes of energy-yielding metabolism, influence of physical factors. Animals: from germ layers to body cavities; simple metazoans (sponges and coelenterates); 3-types of worm-like animal (nematodes, flatworms and annelids); shell bearing animals (molluscs); invertebrates with an external skeleton (arthropods) - why are insects so successful?; deuterostome invertebrates; what features do all chordates share?; modifications of the primitive chordate morphology; characteristics of vertebrates, tetrapods, amniotes and the consequences of their adaptation. Plants: What it means to be a plant - constraints and opportunities of converting sunlight into growth; diversity of algal life in relation to aquatic context; evolution of land plants; plant life cycles; vascular systems; leaf form and function; underground organs and clonality; formation of wood and trees; symbiotic associations; sexual reproductive structures and how they relate to the diminution and retention of the gametophyte. |