BIOLOGY

Module GENERAL ZOOLOGY

Knowledge and understanding

At the end of the lessons, students will be able to understand the position of animals among living beings and the main groupings of living organisms, and to describe animal functions including metabolism, respiration, digestion and absorption, transport, excretion, homeostasis (temperature regulation and osmoregulation), sensory and motor systems, and reproduction. They will also be able to identify the fundamentals of evolutionary biology, including natural selection, evolution within populations, the concepts of species and speciation (allopatric and sympatric), neutral and selective processes, and macroevolution, with reference to fossils, evolutionary rates, and adaptive radiations. Finally, they will be able to recognise the evidence supporting evolution and its role as a unifying principle in biology.

 Applying knowledge and understanding

The aim is to acquire the ability to apply knowledge and understanding through the skill of reading and interpreting phylogenetic trees, applying "tree thinking" to the observed variation among living beings, and linking the concepts of form and function across different animal groups.

The course carries 7 ECTS credits. Teaching activities include lectures (Didattica Erogativa - DE) and practical sessions (Didattica Interattiva - DI).

Lectures cover the theoretical content through practical examples and contribute to the acquisition of the knowledge specified in the expected learning outcomes.

Practical sessions are intended to develop students' ability to apply the knowledge they have acquired, for example by reading and interpreting phylogenetic trees, and contribute to the development of their practical skills.

If the course is delivered in blended or remote mode, appropriate adjustments may be made to the above, in order to ensure consistency with the syllabus.

An optional intermediate written test is scheduled for students who have met the attendance threshold and covers part of the programme. Students who pass this test are exempted from the corresponding part of the oral exam. The final assessment is an oral exam and takes into account performance on the intermediate written test. In any case, as this is a course module, the Biology discipline committee carries out the final evaluation, which pertains to the entire subject. During the oral interview, the following will be assessed: the relevance and quality of the responses, the ability to connect different topics of the programme, the capacity to provide examples, mastery of disciplinary terminology, and overall presentation skills.

Learning assessment may also be carried out on-line, should the conditions require it.

To ensure equal opportunities and in compliance with current laws, interested students may request a personal interview in order to plan any compensatory and/or dispensatory measures based on educational objectives and specific needs. Students can also contact the CInAP (Centro per l'integrazione Attiva e Partecipata — Servizi per le Disabilità e/o i DSA) referring teacher within their department (https://www.cinap.unict.it/content/referenti).

1. The main groups of living organisms and their relationships (including reading and interpreting phylogenetic trees).

2. Metabolism.

3. Form and function: general principles and homeostasis, digestion and absorption, nervous system and sensory mechanisms

Attending lectures is essential as the instructor does not strictly follow the material presented in a single book.

The following books should not be intended as "adopted" books but, rather, as suggested reference texts:

D. Sadava, et al. Life: The Science of Biology. Freeman.

Urry, Cain, Wasserman, Minorsky, Orr. Campbell Biology, 12th Edition. Pearson.

Openstax – Biology 2e – Rice University. https://openstax.org/details/books/biology-2e

Educational material: course slides and material provided by the lecturer through official channels.

An optional intermediate written test is scheduled for students who have met the attendance threshold and covers part of the programme. Students who pass this test are exempted from the corresponding part of the oral exam. The final assessment is an oral exam and takes into account performance on the intermediate written test. In any case, as this is a course module, the Biology discipline committee carries out the final evaluation, which pertains to the entire subject. During the oral interview, the following will be assessed: the relevance and quality of the responses, the ability to connect different topics of the programme, the capacity to provide examples, mastery of disciplinary terminology, and overall presentation skills.

Learning assessment may also be carried out on-line, should the conditions require it.

To ensure equal opportunities and in compliance with current laws, interested students may request a personal interview in order to plan any compensatory and/or dispensatory measures based on educational objectives and specific needs. Students can also contact the CInAP (Centro per l'integrazione Attiva e Partecipata — Servizi per le Disabilità e/o i DSA) referring teacher within their department (https://www.cinap.unict.it/content/referenti).

•        Describe the potential problems and related general solutions when organisms are in hypotonic, isotonic, and hypertonic solutions.

•        Given a set of traits scored on three organisms, find out which are the most likely evolutionary relationships among them.

•        Allopatric and sympatric speciation: describe and compare them.