Bi8165 Wetland ecology

Faculty of Science
Spring 2010
Extent and Intensity
1/0/0. 1 credit(s) (fasci plus compl plus > 4). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Kateřina Šumberová, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Mgr. Ivana Kupčíková, DiS. (assistant)
Guaranteed by
Mgr. Kateřina Šumberová, Ph.D.
Department of Botany and Zoology – Biology Section – Faculty of Science
Contact Person: Mgr. Kateřina Šumberová, Ph.D.
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 course is devoted to the extension of knowledge about plant ecology and community ecology with specialisation on aquatic and wetland plants and vegetation. In the introductive lectures, the specificity of wetland habitats in comparison to terrestrial habitats is explained, from adaptations of various plant groups to general principles of the community pattern respectively. On particular examples the most important types of aquatic and wetland vegetation and their complexes are demonstrated. To compare adaptations, species diversity in various wetland types and taxonomic groups occurring mainly in wetlands in the vegetable and animal kingdom, in some parts of the lecture also selected groups of aquatic and wetland animals from invertebrates to mammals are mentioned. Special attention is paid to the interactions between aquatic and wetland plants and animals, the influence of a man on the wetlands and to the possibilities of wetland habitat protection. During the course, the student should obtain a comprehensive view about the biodiversity of Central-European wetlands, their influencing factors and about the importance of the wetlands in the landscape and for a man. On the basis of abiotic and management data, the student will be able to predict actual species composition of selected wetland and future vegetation succession. Acquired knowledge and skills facilitate the students their research in framework of bachelor and diploma thesis with wetland specialisation and enable them also the evaluation of wetland localities for institutions of nature protection.
Syllabus
  • 1) What are the wetlands? (definitions, examples, basic features of aquatic and wetland environment).
  • 2) Plant and animal adaptations to the life in aquatic and wetland environment (anatomy, morphology, physiology).
  • 3) Taxonomic groups of organisms occurring mainly in wetlands (in the Central Europe and the world).
  • 4) Life strategies and life forms in aquatic and wetland plants (various classification schemes, examples, occurrence in different types of aquatic and wetland vegetation).
  • 5) Dispersal of aquatic and wetland plants (main types, differences compared to terrestrial plants).
  • 6) Types of aquatic habitats in Central Europe and their plant component (running and stagnant water, natural and man-made wetlands, permanent and temporary wetlands, classification according to trophy levels).
  • 7) Vegetation succession in wetlands (silting of water bodies, succession on exposed pond bottoms).
  • 8) Zonality of aquatic and wetland vegetation and its influencing factors (on different levels – within single water body or watercourse, altitudinal levels in the Czech Republic, zonality of the earth).
  • 9) Aquatic plants and animals – interactions (plants as a housing, place of reproduction, and food for animals; animals as co-producers of the plant’s environment and plant dispersal vectors).
  • 10) Anthropogenic impact on the distribution of aquatic and wetland vegetation (tradition of fish-farming, drying out of wetlands, water pollution, cultivation and use of aquatic and wetland plants).
Literature
    recommended literature
  • HEJNÝ, Slavomil. Rostliny vod a pobřeží. Praha: East West Publishing Company, 2000, 118 s. ISBN 80-7219-000-8. info
  • CHYTRÝ, Milan, Tomáš KUČERA and Martin KOČÍ. Katalog biotopů České republiky (Habitat catalogue of the Czech Republic). Praha: Agentura ochrany přírody a krajiny, 2001, 307 pp. ISBN 80-86064-55-7. URL info
  • Plant communities of Slovakia. 3, Wetland Vegetation (Souběž.) : Rastlinné spoločenstvá Slovenska. 3., Vegetácia mokradí. info
  • HEJNÝ, Slavomil. Ökologische Charakteristik der Wasser- und Sumpflanzen in den slowakischen Tiefebenen (Donau- und Theißgebiet) (Ecological characterisation of aquatic and wetland plants in the lowlands of Slovakia (area of Danube and Tisa rivers)). 1st ed. Bratislava: Vydavateľstvo SAV, 1960, 480 pp. info
  • CRONK, J. K. and M. Siobhan FENNESSY. Wetland plants : biology and ecology. Boca Raton: Lewis Publishers, 2001, 462 s. ISBN 1566703727. info
  • BRÖNMARK, Christer and Lars-Anders HANSSON. The biology of lakes and ponds. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998, xii, 216. ISBN 0198549725. info
Teaching methods
Training methods - lectures, class discussion, presentation of literature and other informational sources recommended to the extension of the knowledge.
Assessment methods
Exam - written test; the questions cover all topics included in the lectures. Credit (in case of completion of the course without exam ) - brief discussion about the key topics included in the course. The lectures are not optional, however they are strongly recommended especially to the students who want to finish the course by the exam.
Language of instruction
Czech
Follow-Up Courses
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
The course is taught once in two years.
Information on the per-term frequency of the course: Předmět bude vypisován v sudých letech (2008, ...).
Note related to how often the course is taught: podle dohody se studenty - každý týden, dvoutýdenně nebo blokově.
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2008 - for the purpose of the accreditation, Spring 2004, Spring 2008, Spring 2012, spring 2012 - acreditation, Spring 2015, Spring 2016, spring 2018, Spring 2020, Spring 2022, Spring 2024.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2010, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/sci/spring2010/Bi8165