Duration
15h Th, 15h Pr
Number of credits
| Master in biology of organisms and ecology, research focus | 5 crédits |
Lecturer
Coordinator
Language(s) of instruction
French language
Organisation and examination
Teaching in the first semester, review in January
Schedule
Units courses prerequisite and corequisite
Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program
Learning unit contents
This course aims to understand the challenges of entomology in the conservation and management of biodiversity and in natural but also anthropogenic environments in the face of economic and social pressures. After understanding the diversity of insects, their useful or harmful roles, as well as the life cycles, several multi-trophic interactions will be illustrated in the overall framework of conservation and biodiversity management approaches. Methods for monitoring and quantification of entomological biodiversity will be presented and practically implemented. The entomological bio-indicators in the conservation and management of the entomofauna will be developed and more particularly the notions of invasive, rare and endangered species. The impacts of global changes, urbanization on entomological fauna will also be addressed. Management of the diversity and abundance of insects will be considered based on the adaptations to the environment.
After discussing the taxonomic diversity and biogeography of insects, several examples of insect impacts will be discussed, particularly in relation to socio-economic aspects of entomological resources: pollination, biological control, entomophagy and the recovery of organic matter for animal feed.
Learning outcomes of the learning unit
At the end of the course, students will have acquired a systematic approach allowing the identification up to the family taxonomic level for insects of major interests such as bio-indicators or as other functions illustrated through the developed examples. The different stages of entomological monitoring, from the methods of observation and identiifcation of insects to the analysis of biodiversity have been apprehended. The environmental management of different ecosystems will have been developed to identify the actions that can be taken to maintain and promote entomological diversity.
Prerequisite knowledge and skills
Planned learning activities and teaching methods
The course will be divided between ex-cathedra presentations and practical work sessions. It will be illustrated with various examples from the Insect Class and will be based on results extracted from recent scientific publications, which may be the subject of analysis by the students.
Mode of delivery (face to face, distance learning, hybrid learning)
A variety of approaches are planned:
- theoretical presentations in classroom,
- field work to set traps and organize an entomological monitoring,
- practical laboratory sessions to prepare and identify insects,
- reading of reference documents on methods of calculating diversity indexes, interchanges with the teacher and calculation application based on real datasets,
- preparation of a presentation for restitution of learning.
Course materials and recommended or required readings
Exam(s) in session
Any session
- In-person
oral exam
- Remote
oral exam
Written work / report
Out-of-session test(s)
Additional information:
A presentation following a group work on the implementation of diversity parameter calculations corresponds to 50% of the final grade. During this presentation, theoretical notions on the calculation of diversity parameters and on basic insect biology will be discussed. A written report of this group work will be due in the form of a scientific article and a general interest article and will correspond to 50% of the final grade.
Work placement(s)
Organisational remarks and main changes to the course
Contacts
Pr Frederic FRANCIS
Tel 0032 81 622287
E-mail : Frederic.Francis@uliege.be