Bi0662 Selected topics in ecology

Faculty of Science
Autumn 2023
Extent and Intensity
1/0/0. 1 credit(s). Type of Completion: z (credit).
Teacher(s)
Gianluigi Ottaviani, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Mathieu Millan, Ph.D. (lecturer), prof. RNDr. Milan Chytrý, Ph.D. (deputy)
Guaranteed by
prof. RNDr. Milan Chytrý, Ph.D.
Department of Botany and Zoology – Biology Section – Faculty of Science
Contact Person: prof. RNDr. Milan Chytrý, Ph.D.
Supplier department: Department of Botany and Zoology – Biology Section – Faculty of Science
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The students will obtain knowledge about topic and subjects which are not taught in regular courses at Masaryk University. This course is offered by external lecturers who talk about their research. There are different lecturers in every semester. Rather than a comprehensive coverage of some subject, the purpose of this course is defining scientific problems in a focused topic, discussion on methods applied to solve these problems, and presentation of results of particular projects. The objective is to demostrate some topic which is not included in regular courses offered at Masaryk University.
Learning outcomes
After finishing this course, the student:
- will have basic ideas about one sub-discipline of ecology that is not covered in a comparable extent in regular courses taught at Masaryk University;
- know the main questions of current research in this sub-discipline.
Syllabus
  • Trait-based approaches in plant functional ecology: concepts and applications
  • by Gianluigi Ottaviani, Italian National Research Council (CNR-IRET), Porano, Italy, and National Biodiversity Future Centre, Palermo, Italy
  • and Mathieu Millan, Institute of Botany, Czech Academy of Sciences, Třeboň, Czechia
  • 15-16 January 2024 (from 9am to 5 or 6pm each day) in D36/225 (Botanické praktikum)
  • DAY 1 (15 January 2024)
  • 1 - From plant types to plant traits: a modern challenge for an ancient question [ 3 hrs]
  • Plant functional ecology: A new hot topic or an ancient quest? Or, the revamping of an old approach under a new (dis)guise?
  • The idea of identifying plant species into main types is old. The Ancient Greeks attempted to grasp and classify major plant types, based on plant morphological similarities and differences, which remained unchallenged for  2 ky. Since the 19th century, this concept has been evolving along with the ecological questions and hypotheses that botanists, naturalists and ecologists have been trying to address. We are nowadays facing many challenges related to rapid and exacerbating environmental changes (most of them being human-induced) that call for a deeper understanding of how plants may respond. Along this quest, examining functional shifts (captured by trait patterns) in vegetation offer a powerful tool to do that. We therefore need to refine and adapt trait-based approaches to improve our understanding of how plants “function” at different organizational levels. This information could be then scaled up to better describe, model and predict the functioning (and changes) of entire ecosystems and biomes.
  • 2 - Conceptual footings of what is a trait and when it is functional [ 4-5 hrs]
  • What is a (functional) trait? How to capture major plant functions and challenges?
  • In the last few decades, ecologists have revamped the idea of grouping plants based on similarities and differences in their physiological, anatomical, morphological, architectural, and phenological features (traits; sensu Violle et al. 2007 [Oikos]). Functional traits instead can depict plants’ attributes influencing their fitness and ecological performances. Importantly, functional traits are collected at the individual level of a given population/species but then allow us to move forward from the taxonomic scale to better understand the ecological functions of these organisms at different organizational levels or spatio-temporal scales. We present the last advances built upon this solid conceptual and usable trait-based framework, discussing strengths and shortcomings which we deem are in need of further improvement to move the field of plant ecology forward. For example, we spotlight the 1) confusion between plant growth and development, and the importance of ontogeny in shaping trait values, which is however poorly considered/misconceived in plant ecology, and 2) the relevance of identifying major and more specific functions (and associated challenges) forming and affecting growth, reproduction, and survival, for which functional traits can be collected.
  • DAY 2 (16 January 2024)
  • 3 - Trait-based approaches in ecology, evolution, and biogeography [ 4 hrs]
  • What can we gain from studying plant functional traits?
  • Plant trait-based approaches can help answer many eco-evolutionary questions, at different organizational levels (from populations to ecosystems), spatial scales (from fine/local to broad/global), and environmental gradients (biotic or abiotic). Different methods can tackle specific research questions. For example, one could ask whether, under harsh environmental conditions, plant species specialized to those conditions tend to be characterized by similar trait values, and whether this pattern is also shaped by a shared evolutionary history (i.e. closely related species having more similar trait values than those of distantly related species). We select some studies from the extensive and constantly increasing trait-based literature as well as research more linked to our own experience working with plant functional traits, namely in functional biogeography of insular systems (focused on local persistence strategies), trait coordination (intra- and interspecific relationships), biomass allocation strategies, and plant architecture.
  • 4 - Final & interactive (Q&As) session [ 3 hrs]
  • What are the “burning”/pressing questions & next challenges?
  • Wrap-up of the course and presentation of future challenges for trait-based approaches. This will be followed by an open exchange of ideas among participants, touching upon research questions which may have arisen during the course, associated with specific interests (and/or datasets) of the attendants to be eventually addressed in future trait-based studies
Literature
    recommended literature
  • Literaturu dodává v případě potřeby zvaný přednášející podle vlastní úvahy.
  • BEGON, Michael, John L. HARPER and Colin R. TOWNSEND. Ekologie : jedinci, populace a společenstva. Translated by Bronislava Grygová - Barbara Köberleová - Zdeněk Brandl. 1. vyd. Olomouc: Vydavatelství Univerzity Palackého, 1997, xxiv, 949. ISBN 8070676957. info
    not specified
  • Literaturu dodává v případě potřeby zvaný přednášející / Literature is supplied by the invited lecturer..
Teaching methods
Lectures.
Assessment methods
To obtain credits for this course students must participate in at least 80% of teaching hours and participate in a class discussion.
Language of instruction
English
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
The course can also be completed outside the examination period.
Information on the per-term frequency of the course: předmět je vypisován nepravidelně podle nabáídky témat externích vyučujících.
The course is taught: in blocks.
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2008 - for the purpose of the accreditation, Spring 2011 - only for the accreditation, Spring 2003, Spring 2004, Spring 2005, Spring 2006, Spring 2007, Spring 2008, Spring 2009, Spring 2010, Spring 2011, Spring 2012, spring 2012 - acreditation, Spring 2013, Spring 2014, Spring 2015, Spring 2016, Spring 2017, spring 2018, Spring 2019, autumn 2021, Spring 2023.
  • Enrolment Statistics (recent)
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