MODULE: Physiology and adaptation in plants and animals (PAPA)

MODULE NUMBER: BIO00003C

JACS CODE: C100

STAGE / YEAR: 1

CREDITS: 10

ORGANISER: Richard Waites

SUBJECT COMMITTEE: COB

VERSION: November 2012

TERMS TAUGHT: Au/SP/Su

RECOMMENDATIONS/PREREQUISITES: Students should have met the admissions standards required by the Department of Biology for enrolment on the course.

SUMMARY:

This module concerns the basic physiology of plants and animals. Core topics are water relations, gas exchange, nutrition and energy budgeting. In addition, the signalling systems, such as the nervous system and hormone networks, that regulate and integrate these systems will be considered. The focus on these central themes allows comparison of the strategies for overcoming common problems both within and between the plant and animal kingdoms.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

1.  A knowledge of the major events in the evolutionary history of plants and animals and an appreciation of the characteristics of major animal and plant phyla

2.  An understanding of the adaptive significance, organisation and function of the principal organ systems of animals, including the digestive, circulatory, excretory, thermoregulatory and skeletal systems, and how these organ systems may vary with animal body plan, size and environmental circumstance.

3.  An understanding of the adaptive significance, organisation and function of the principal organ systems of plants, including roots, stems, leaves, and flowers and how these organ systems vary with plant body plan and environmental circumstance.

4.  An appreciation of the diverse physiological strategies that allow plant and animal life in different environments.

5.  An understanding of the major regulatory systems that integrate physiological responses in plants and animals

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SYNOPSIS OF TEACHING:

Event / Duration (Hrs) / Topic / Staff / Room type / Timing
Autumn Term
L1 / 1 / Tree of life: An overview of the diversity of plant and animal life. / RW / LT / Wk 2
L2 / 1 / Animal guts: The contribution of intracellular and extracellular digestion to degradation of ingested food; digestive enzymes and types of guts; absorption of nutrients. / STS / LT / Wk 3
L3 / 1 / Body fluids of animals: The composition and function of extracellular fluids; diffusion and bulk flow of body fluids; comparative physiology of animal circulatory systems, as exemplified by the closed system of vertebrates and open system of insects. / STS / LT / Wk 4
L4 / 1 / Osmotic relations of animals: The distinction between osmoconforming and osmoregulating animals; osmoregulation in fish and osmoregulation in terrestrial animals, both mammals and insects; filtration and secretion excretory systems, as exemplified by vertebrate kidneys and insect Malpighian tubules. / STS / LT / Wk 5
L5 / 1 / Skeletons: Rigid skeletons (both exoskeletons and endoskeletons) and hydrostatic skeletons; the function of skeletons in support, protection and muscle-based movement; variation in characteristics of the skeleton with animal body size. / STS / LT / Wk 6
L6 / 1 / Exchange of respiratory gases: Gas exchange in aquatic and terrestrial animals; the relationship between respiratory surfaces and circulatory systems; the organs of gas exchange – lungs of vertebrates, gills of fish and tracheae of insects. / CJHE / LT / Wk 7
L7 / 1 / Energy budgets: The use of oxygen consumption as an index of metabolic rate; variation in energy expenditure between species and with activity in both laboratory and field. / CJHE / LT / Wk 8
L8 / 1 / Body temperature and thermoregulation: The metabolic rate of endotherms and ectotherms; factors contributing to the stable body temperature of mammals; temporary endotherms, especially insects. / CJHE / LT / Wk 9
P1 / 2 / Cell functional specialisation in Hydra: The students will investigate the different cell types in a hydra at a structural and functional level. / HVI / Biolabs / Wk 9
L9 / 1 / Control of Energy balance: Appetite, satiation, reward, addiction, role of CNS and of neuro-and gastric peptides. / CJHE / LT / Wk 9
P2 / 2 / Organ functional specialisation: The students will dissect locusts, squid, to investigate organs systems at a structural and functional level. / CJHE
STS / Biolabs / Wk 9
Spring Term
L10 / 1 / Water in plants: Cuticles, root/shoot specialisation and vascularisation, stomata and transpiration. Drought adaptations. / TH / LT / Wk 2
L11 / 1 / Gas exchange in plants: CO2, stomata and the water/CO2 conflict. C4 and CAM photosynthesis. / TH / LT / Wk 3
L12 / 1 / Light: Specialisation for light acquisition – leaves, phyllotaxy, photoreceptors, stem elongation growth, wood. / TH / LT / Wk 4
P3 / 2 / Cell functional specialisation: The students will investigate the different cell types in a leaf epidermis at a structural and functional level. / RW / Biolabs / Wk 4
L13 / 1 / Mineral nutrition: N P K and micronutrients. Transporters and ion uptake. Root growth strategies for maximising acquisition. Nodulation and Mycorrhization. / TH / LT / Wk 5
L14 / 1 / Plant behaviour 1: Hormonal signalling and plant behaviour using root exploration of the soil as an example. / RW / LT / Wk 6
L15 / 1 / Plant behaviour 2: Circadian rhythms and photoperiodism using leaf movements and floral transition as examples. / RW / LT / Wk 7
L16 / 1 / Plant sex and the sessile growth habit: Pteropsida, megaspore and evolution of seeds – Gymnosperms, Angiosperms: double fertilisation, pollen dispersal and SI, outbreeding, coevolution of insects and flowering plants, and mechanisms of pollination success. / RW / LT / Wk 8
P4 / 2 / Organ functional specialisation: The students will dissect flowers and stems to investigate organ systems at a structural and functional level. / RW / Biolabs / Wk 8
L17 / 1 / Life histories: Alternation of generations (plants, brown/green algae, animals and fungi). Double fertilisation in seed plants. Reproduction in flowering plants. Seed structure, function and evolution. Seed dormancy: physiology; breaking dormancy. / RW / LT / W9
L18 / 1 / Body plans and life styles: The contribution of evolutionary history and ecological circumstance for shaping physiological systems of plants and animals. / RW / LT / Wk 10
L19 / 1 / To explain the ‘Taxonomy, Diversity and Classification Workshop’, and the ‘Invent an Organism’ exercise. / HVI
RW
TH / LT / Wk 10
Summer Term
Synoptic activities
W/Shop 1 / Taxonomy diversity and classification. This is a VLE based workshop – no timetabled slot is required / HVI
TH
W/Shop 2 / 4 / Invent an organism: The students work in groups, using the VLE to design a plant or an animal adapted to a specific allocated environment. Each group presents its proposed organisms to the class and explains the physiological basis for the design. This 4hr session at the end for the results to be presented / RW
HVI / LT / Wk 4
Supported learning
Session 1 / 2 / Q & A revision session on autumn term animal biology aspects, to include working through example questions. (may be some practical aspects) / STS
CJHE / Biolabs
Session 2 / 2 / Q & A revision session on spring term plant biology aspects, to include working through example questions. (may be some practical aspects) / TH
RW / Biolabs

KEY TEXTS: These are available in EARL which is accessible through the VLE module site.

ASSESSMENT:

Formative: NO

Summative: Yes

Re-assessment: Yes

DEMONSTRATING REQUIREMENTS: P1-P4 require two demonstrators for the first hour and a half

MAXIMUM NUMBERS: 156

STUDENT WORKLOAD: students’ workload totalling 100 hours per 10 credit module

Lectures: 19

Workshops: 6

Supported learning sessions

Practicals: 8

Tutorials

Total Contact hours: 33

Assessments (formative and summative):

Private study: 65.5

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