The aim of this module is to provide students with a solid foundation in Tropical Ecology as tropical forests contain approximately two-thirds of the Earth’s biodiversity, and about half of its carbon.
The main focus will be on tropical ecosystems diversity, structure and functioning including tropical forests ecosystems, coral reefs, mangroves and costal zones, mountain sub-alpine and alpine ecosystems, wetlands and peat bogs, inselbergs, savannahs and deserts and so forth.
Better understanding the ecological processes that allow for such diversity, and support the provision of ecosystem services to humans is an important training for undergraduates in conservation programmes. Students will develop an appreciation and understanding of the ecology and conservation of tropical rain forests and strengthen their ability to communicate through the written word.
The module provides opportunities for students to develop the ability to weigh the claims made by scientists against the evidence. This will be a writing-intensive course. Students will have ample opportunity to demonstrate their mastery of the topic, and their fluency in expressing themselves through writing, throughout the module.
The goal is to cover the fundamentals of tropical ecology, including key habitat features, biodiversity, ecological processes and biotic interactions; to provide first-hand experience of ecological research in the tropics, through group exercises and short independent projects and to evaluate the anthropogenic impacts on tropical ecosystems and consider the current conservation and forest management practices
To be more specific the Students will:
- Understand the main patterns of tropical vegetation and how this
drives animal distribution
- Have an insight in the processes that generate and maintain
biodiversity in the tropics
- Understand the role of climate change and climate variability of vegetation and animal population dynamic and associated possible changes in relation with global warming under the tropics
- Understand the role of humans in historical and future changes in
tropical forest ecosystems
- Have an understanding of theoretical ecology in explaining community
composition in tropical forests
Dear Students,
Welcome to the Biochemistry of Natural Products module. This module focuses on the study of enzymes. Isolation, characterisation and application of Natural products will be elucidated in detail.
Course content
Introduction: Enzymes. Cofactors/Coenzymes. Primary and Secondary Metabolites. Natural Products and their Functions. Plant Chemical Ecology. Biosynthesis. Metabolic Pathways.
Important Biological Events Occurring in Plants: Photosynthesis, Biological Oxidation: Reduction (NADPH ⇌ NADP+, Phosphorylation (ATP→ADP) and Regeneration, Acetyl Coenzyme A, Transamination, Isomerization, and Decarboxylation, Addition of C1-Unit with AdoMet (SAM), C- and O-Alkylation,
Natural Products Chemistry: A General Treatment: Introduction, Isolation (different techniques of chromatography), Introduction to structural Elucidation; Biosynthesis of Terpenoids. Steroids: Cholesterol and Other Phytosterols, Carotenoids
Module Description for Animal physiology
Every living organism needs to perform many functions to maintain its integrity, and to grow and proliferate, which are carried out by many cell types working coordinately. These functions are extremely complex and diverse, going from those related to food digestion, detoxification, movement, reproduction, support, defense against pathogens, to those related to thinking, emotions or consciousness. All these functions are carried out by specialized cells, such as those of the gastrointestinal epithelium, liver, muscle, germ cells, bone, lymphocytes and neurons, respectively. Cells need a particular molecular framework, mainly based on proteins, to carry out their functions. In an organism, some functions may be carried out by only one cell type, but the cooperation of several cell types acting in a coordinated way is commonly needed.
Physiology is the branch of biological sciences dealing with understanding life functions including all physical and chemical processes. It analyzes the organic processes or functions in an organism or in any of its parts.
Physiology is a synthetic science that uses all natural sciences laws to raise understanding of life functions and how organisms cope with their environment to achieve their survival and development through achievement of life functions: nutrition, generation, excretion, locomotion, sensibility and coordination.
ANIMAL PHYSIOLOGY
Animal physiology is the study of how animals work, or more specifically the physical and chemical processes that occur within animals. Examples of these processes include gas exchange, blood circulation, osmoregulation, digestion, nervous and muscle systems and endocrinology.
Welcome to the module of Plant Physiology.
The course aims to introduce the physiological and biochemical functions of plants and highlight the relationship between anatomy and physiology. Basic physical principles that underlie photosynthetic energy storage and the current understanding of the structure and function of the photosynthetic apparatus will be discussed. Aspects of plant eco-physiology will also be considered.
The aim of this module is to introduce students to the diversity of life and the intricate value of conserving biological diversity. Content includes introduction to the following: diversity of animals, diversity of plants, distribution of diversity across the earth, and conservation of biodiversity.
By the end of the module, students must be able to describe the levels of biological diversity, characterize various plant and animal groups, analyze the importance of diversity, and determine efficient and practical measures to maintain the diversity of life.
Plant physiology is a sub discipline of botany concerned with the functioning, or physiology, of plants.[1] Closely related fields include plant morphology (structure of plants), plant ecology (interactions with the environment), phytochemistry (biochemistry of plants), cell biology, genetics, biophysics and molecular biology.
The module makes students to discover fundamental processes such as photosynthesis, respiration, plant nutrition, plant hormone functions, tropisms, nastic movements, photoperiodism, photomorphogenesis, circadian rhythms, environmental stress physiology, seed germination, dormancy and stomata function and transpiration, both parts of plant water relations, are studied by plant physiologists.