Tropical Plant Ecophysiology and Functional Ecology Lab

ENVIRONMENTAL PHYSIOLOGY – BIOLOGY 300

SPRING SEMESTER

Instructor : Guillermo Goldstein

Office : Cox 204

Email : goldstein@bio.miami.edu

Office phone : (305) 284-4798

Office hours : T and Th 12:30 to 13:30, or by appointment

We discuss in this course the functional and adaptive significance of morphological and physiological traits of organisms in relation to their physical environment. Emphasis is placed on general principles that encompass both plants and animals. We learn how animals and plants survive, acclimate and respond to the environment (e.g. temperature, radiation, water availability). One of the main goals of the course is to appreciate the flexibility of physiological systems and the power of natural selection in shaping an organisms adaptations. Another important goal is to show the many similarities between animals and plants in terms of mechanisms and processes for dealing with the complex nature of the environment.

Course outline (for the Spring semester 2002)

A. Introduction and review of general concepts in ecophysiology and ecology     

T   Jan 15 Scope of the course. Populations, communities and ecosystems. Biotic and

abiotic factors. Ecological tolerance and optimum. Niche concept and concepts of stress responses, acclimation and adaptations.

Th Jan 17 Patterns of population growth. Growth models: exponential and logistic

growth. Regulation of populations: density dependent and density independent factors.

T   Jan 22 Species interactions. Competition, predation, herbivory, commensalism,

mutualism, amensalism

Th Jan 24 Succession. Different types of successions (e.g. primary vs. secondary,

antigenic vs. allogenic)

B. Energy and thermal balance

T   Jan 29 Physical environmental factors. Some basic concepts about physics and

chemistry of soils. Energy status of soil water. The concept of soil water

potential. (Chapter 4A LCP)

Th Jan 31 Radiation and temperature, energy budgets. Temperature regulation of animals

and plants. (Chapter 4A LCP)

T   Feb 5 Leaf spectral properties. Absorptance, emittance and reflectance. Changes in

spectral properties of leaves. Adaptations for capturing light in dark forest understories. (Chapter 4A LCP)

Th Feb 7 Effects of temperature changes on metabolic activity. Body temperature of birds

and mammals, heat balance. Homeothermy and poikilothermy. A classification

based on the source of heat stored in the body: endothermy and ectothermy. Body temperature in “cold-blooded” animals. The importance of body size.  Hibernation. (Chapter 17 RBF, chapter 7 S)

T   Feb 12 Problems of size and scale both for animals and plants. The scaling of

metabolic rate. Scaling of locomotion in animals. (Chapter 3 WSJ)

Th Feb 14 First midterm-exam

T   Feb 19 Special class on animal physiology

Th Feb 21 Special class on animal physiology

C. Tolerance and avoidance to low and high temperatures

T   Feb 26 Avoidance of subzero temperatures in plants. Supercooling. Thermal analysis.

Nuclear magnetic resonance techniques. (Chapter 4B LCP)

Th Feb 28 Tolerance to freezing in plants. Osmotic regulation of apoplastic and

symplastic water compartments in plants in relation to hardiness and acclimation to low temperature. (Chapter 4B LCP)

T   Mar 5 Tolerance to high temperatures in animals. Tolerance to cold and freezing.

Supercooling and freeze-intolerant animals. Ice nucleating agents. (Chapter 6 S)

D. Water balance and osmoregulation

Th Mar 7 Plant's water relation and leaf water potential. Water potential isotherms

T   Mar 12 Spring break. (Chapter 3 LCP)

Th Mar 14 Spring break

T   Mar 19 Second-midterm Exam

Th Mar 21 Soil-plant atmosphere continuum. Hydraulic architecture and long distance

water transport. Why do trees only grow to certain height? (Chapter 3 LCP)

T   Mar 26 Water and osmotic regulation in animals. Ionic concentration in body fluids.

Mechanisms of osmoregulation. Fish, amphibians, moist-skinned animals, arthropods and terrestrial vertebrates. (Chapter 8 S)

Th Mar 28 Excretory organs that have important roles in osmoregulation. Contractil

vacuoles, invertebrate excretory organs. Vertebrate kidneys. Nitrogen excretion.

(Chapter 8 S)

E. Carbon uptake and food intake. Carbon budgets. Metabolism and energy supply.

T   Apr 2 Carbon uptake by plants. Responses of stomata to the physical environment and

plant factors. Water use efficiency and stable isotopes. (Chapter 2 LCP)

Th Apr 4 Photosynthesis and respiration in plants. C3, C4 and CAM photosynthetic

pathways. Distribution and ecology. (Chapter 2 LCP)

T   Apr 9 Intake of food by  animals. Feeding and digestion. Nutrition, specific nutritional

needs. Energy storage: fat and glycogen. Effects of oxygen concentration. Metabolic rate and body size. Anaerobic and aerobic metabolism. (Chapters 4+5 S, chapter 6 WSJ)

F. Coping with extreme environments

Th Apr 11 Coping with high salinity

T   Apr 16 Coping with high elevations

Th Apr 18 Life cycles and reproduction

T   Apr 23 Last class. Review of all material discussed during semester

Th Apr 25 Final exam.

Grading . Grades will be based on three in-class exams worth 100 points each. The final exam will not be comprehensive.

Principal texts

For plants is :

            -    Hans Lambers, F. Stuart Chapin III, and Thijs L. Pons (2000) Plant

Physiological Ecology, Springer-Verlag NY Berlin Heidelberg (LCP)

For animals are :

-    Knut Schmidt-Nielsen (1997) Animal Physiology. Adaptation and Environment. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (S)

-    Pat Willmer, Graham Stone, and Ian Johnston (2000) Environmental Physiology of Animals. Blackwell Science, Oxford (WSJ)

-   David Randall, Warren Burggren and Kathleen French (2002) Eckert Animal Physiology. Mechanism and Adaptations. W.H. Freeman and Company, NY (RBF)