Page 56 - CatalogNEP-LS

DISCIPLINE SPECIFIC ELECTIVE COURSES:

Zoo.212 Ecology 3+1

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

The primary objective of this course is:
 To enable the students to the concept of ecology and ecosystem and introduce them to
various interactions among organisms and environment.
 To provide knowledge of dynamics of ecosystems in relation to human life.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

This course will enable the students to understand:
 The process that shape the distribution and abundance of organisms from the micro-habitat
to the globe.
 Recognize that the distribution of organisms is a product of positive and negative
interactions within and across the trophic levels including competition, mutualism,
predation and parasitism.
 The evolution of organism form and function influences ecological interactions and habitat
tolerance

THEORY (45 Hours)

UNIT 1: Plants and environment (7 Hours)
Ecological factors: Atmosphere (gaseous composition). Water (properties of water and water
cycle), light (global radiation, photosynthetically active radiation), temperature, soil
(development, soil profiles, physico-chemical properties), and biota.
UNIT 2: Ecological adaptations (6 Hours)

Morphological, anatomical and physiological responses of plants to water (hydrophytes and
xerophytes), temperature (thermoperiodictity and vernalization), light (photoperiodism,
heliophytes and sciophytes) and salinity.
UNIT 3: Population ecology (8 Hours)

Definition, Population characteristics, population dynamics & regulation, ecotypes, ecads.

UNIT 4: Community ecology (8 Hours)
Definition, Community characteristics, Biological spectrum, Ecological succession.
UNIT 5: Ecosystems (10 Hours)

Structure (biotic and abiotic components) ecological pyramids, and function of ecosystems; food
chain, food web, energy flow; biogeochemical cycles of carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus.
UNIT 6: Biogeographical regions of India (6 Hours)

General account of biogeographical regions of India, Vegetation types of India: Forests and
grasslands

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