Applied Ecology of Arthropods and Fungi

As for the entomological part the following topics will be treated :Abiotic factors: light, heat, water, environment. Phytophage, micetophage, zoophage. Biotic factors: relations with other animal, communication, parental care, aggregations, territoriality, commensalism, symbiosis, predation and parasitism. Preservation resources: longevity, biological rhythms, mobility. Population dynamics: biotic potential and environmental resistance. Types of damage of arthropods in the agricultural environment.

The course provides fundamental information on the practical aspects of the ecology of arthropods and fungi ecology such as basic knowledge that will find a natural development in courses on entomology, plant pathology, crop and food protection and ecology. Regarding the mycological aspects the course will cover the following topics:Structure and organization of the fungal thallus: hyphae and hyphal wall, cellular organization, septa, apical growth, branching and hyphal fusions, hyphal modifications and aggregations. Reproduction: asexual and sexual reproduction and related reproductive structures (zoospores, sporangiospore, conidiospore, oospores, zigospore, ascospores and basidiospores), fruiting bodies, reproductive strategies of fungi. Fungal classification: criteria for fungal taxonomy, general characteristics of the main taxonomic groups. Spore germination: latency, morphology of germination processes, influence of environmental factors on germination. Influence of environmental factors and nutrition on growth and fungal reproduction. Variability: importance and mechanisms of heterokaryosis, cytoplasmic inheritance. The fungal symbiosis: mycorrhizae; physiological interactions between plant and fungus, the different types of mycorrhiza, ecological significance of plant diseases and mycorrhizal relationship. The fungal symbiosis: lichens; nature of the interaction between fungi and algae, types and ecological significance. Fungi and saprophytism: the biodegradation of organic matter to the biodeterioration of materials and products. Parasitism: parasitic relationships between fungi and various types of hosts, introduction to plant parasitism. During the exercises will be developed mycological aspects regarding the techniques of cultivation and identification of fungi, special cases of interactions between fungi and other organisms and/or substrates in order to emphasize their ecological role. Some topics of the exercises will be directly developed by the students, individually or in groups, with the support of the teacher and shared with other course participants. The material produced during the exercises will be made available to students. The topics covered and/or developed during the exercises will be subject to verification in the examination.