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BIOGEOGRAPHY& MACROECOLOGY

BDC322. BIOGEOGRAPHY& MACROECOLOGY. Frans M Weitz, Biodiversity and Conservation Biology, UWC Tel: 021 959 2284. Email: fweitz@uwc.ac.za. MODULE CONTENT. Continental drift and glaciations. Theories of biogeography. Origin of flowering plants vs. mammals. Cladistic biogeography.

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BIOGEOGRAPHY& MACROECOLOGY

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  1. BDC322 BIOGEOGRAPHY& MACROECOLOGY Frans M Weitz, Biodiversity and Conservation Biology, UWC Tel: 021 959 2284. Email: fweitz@uwc.ac.za

  2. MODULE CONTENT • Continental drift and glaciations • Theories of biogeography • Origin of flowering plants vs. mammals • Cladistic biogeography • Macroecology

  3. BCB 322 BIOGEOGRAPHY AND MACROECOLOGY

  4. 1. INTRODUCTION: Overview; course specifics Plate tectonics; Geographical and climatic timelines 2. CONTINENTAL DRIFT AND GLACIATIONS: 3. THE AGE OF THE ANGIOSPERMS Geological and, paleo-ecological evidence, Gondwanan families Theories on origin of Angiosperms 4. ORIGIN OF THE ANGIOSPERMS: 5. ORIGIN OF THE CAPE FLORA: Origin of the Cape flora using track analysis; Gondwanan, African and Boreal tracks. 6. PAPER DISCUSSION Plant diversity of the Cape Region of Southen Africa (Goldblatt & Manning (1997) 7. TRACKING FAMILY HISTORIES (1): Plants, insects and Tetrapods a comparison 8. TRACKING FAMILY HISTORIES (2): Track analysis of Weevils THEORY

  5. 10. MOLECULAR METHODS AND BIOGEOGRAPHY: Dating floras using molecular methods: Phylica 11. ORIGIN OF DINOSAURS AND MAMMALS: Different phases in the origin and diversification Factors driving endemism with examples 12. ENDEMISM: 13. ISLAND BIOGEOGRAPHY: Equilibrium theory, immigration and extinction Anagenetic evolution in island plants 14. PAPER DISCUSSION ON ISLAND BIOGEOGRAPHY 9. TRACKING FAMILY HISTORIES (3):: Track analysis of Hominids Quadrupedal animal diversity and plant productivity 15. LATITUDINAL GRADIENTS AND DIVERSITY:

  6. 16. GLOBAL PATTERNS AND SEED SIZE: Paper discussion PRACTICAL REPORTS Relationship between body size and population abundance (size) 17. BODY SIZE AND ABUNDANCE RELATIONSHIPS: Cape Flats Nature Reserve, 9 September 2010, 5.30pm. (e-copy + hardcopy, 10 September 2010) Sir Lowry’s Pass, 27 September 2010 Karoo Botanical Garden, 7 October 2010 18. BODY SIZE AND EXTINCTION RATES: Relationship between body size and extinction rates

  7. PRACTICAL PROJECT • SYSTEMATIC STUDIES OF A SELECTED PLANT SPECIES FROM THE CAPE FLATS NATURE RESERVE: • Select a plant species from the list provided and confirm your choice with me • Then: • Map the plant’s distribution in the Reserve using a GPS and a suitable application for mapping. • Describe the plant’s habit, distribution, classification, habitat, morphology, reproductive biology (this may be from the literature), and anything else that you think is relevant. Literature consulted must be recent. • Study the leaf epidermis focussing particularly on any special structural/functional features and illustrate these with suitable photographs. Also include measurements of epidermal structures, frequencies of stomata or any other structures. • The final results to be presented as a full report + presentation under the • following headings: • Aims, Introduction and overview of literature (literature survey) • Materials and methods • Results, Discussion, Conclusion and references • GPS co-ordinates (in decimal degrees) must be in Excel format and included • as an appendage.

  8. COURSE EVALUATION

  9. SKILLS 1. ACCESS INFORMATION 2. READ SCIENTIFIC PAPERS 3. FIELD TECHNIQUES 4. LAB TECHNIQUES 5. SCIENTIFIC METHOD 6. SCIENTIFIC REPORT WRITING

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