Italian and English, as text books are only in English
Course Content
Scientific terminology regarding rhythms, animal orientation and navigation; carachteristics of rhythmic activity at different levels (cells, organisms, populations) and in different groups of organisms (protists, fungi, plants, animals); mechanisms of orientation in animals; genetics, regulation, development and expression of biological clocks, orientation mechanisms and migration; function and evolution of biological clocks, orientation and migration.
There are no specific tests for this course: Notes are taken by the students, photocopies and readers are distributed during the course. The attendance of the classes is strongly reccommended.
Textbooks in English available at the Library of Anthropology:
Koukkari W.L., Sothern R.B., Introducing Biological Rhythms, Springer, 2006;
Naylor, E., Chronobiology of Marine Organisms, Cambridge University Press, 2010.
Learning Objectives
To acquire specific scientific knowledge in the field of chronobiology and orientation, the use of correct technical terminology, the transversal importance of chronobiology and orientation in biological science, ecology and ethology;
To acquire skills for bibliographic search on the subjects of the course;
To acquire competence for a critical reading of scientific papers on the subject;
To acquire the ability for setting experiments on biological rhythms and animal orientation;
To acquire the capacity of interpretation of experimental data on biological rhythms and animal orientation.
Prerequisites
Required courses of Zoology, Ecology and Ethology; Reccommended courses of Marine Biology.
Teaching Methods
Lectures; Critical discussion of scientific papers; Seminars given by invited researchers/professors on the subject; participation in setting, performing and analysing experiments on rhythms and orientation under controlled conditions; analisys od periodic and circular data.
Type of Assessment
A final oral examination on the topics illustrated during the course, including a critical discussion of a scientific article or book chapter and/or the results of the experiments performed during the practical part of the course. The grade will take into account: the precision of scientific terminolgy, the specific knowledge of the topics illustrated during the course; the capacity of critical reading of the literature; the capacity of proposing a personal experimentation in the field of chronobiology and/or animal orientation.
Course program
Rhythms: Environmental rhythms and biological rhythms; circadian, ultradian and infradian rhythms; origin and development of chronobiology; the methods used to study biological rhythms; mechanisms and models of endogenous periodicity; the biological clocks; period analysis; the genetics of biological rhythms; the localisation of biological clocks; the evolution of biological rhythms in plants, animal and humans.
Orientation: Definition of orientation; kineses and taxes (classification and examples); the space-temporal use of the environment; the concept of goal; secondary orientation; mediated orientation (definite and indefinite goal), immediate orientation; unidirectional (stratal, zonal) orientation; sun compass; moon compass; magnetic compass; puridirectional orientation; homing; navigation (classification and mechanisms); emigration; dispersal; migration; migratory routes and migration mechanisms used during the day and night; genetic basis for migration.