Sciences and Teaching of Natural Systems

HISTORY OF BIOGEGRAPHY AND INTRODUCTION TO THE PROBLEMS (4 hours) - Introduction to Biogeography - Objectives of biogeography, relationship with other scientific disciplines, philosophy and basic principles, historical and ecological biogeography; History of biogeography - Origin of biogeographic problems, pre-Darwinian biogeography, Wallace, Darwin and modern biogeography, the conceptual revolution of the twentieth century. FACTORS DETERMINING THE DISTRIBUTION OF LIVING BEINGS (6 hours) - Species distribution - Biological concept of species, mapping and measuring range, concept of niche, meta-population and sub-population, distribution and abundance, range limits, disturbance, interspecific interactions; Dispersal and immigration - Definition of “dispersal”, dispersal and range expansion, movement mechanisms, physical and ecological barriers, corridors and biological filters. VOLUTIONARY PROCESSES (4 hours) - Speciation and extinction - Definition of species, mechanisms of speciation, allopatric, sympatric and parapatric speciation, concepts of endemism and cosmopolitanism, disjunct distributions, adaptive radiation, extinction, macroevolution. THE EVOLUTION OF THE PLANET, BIOMES AND BIOGEOGRAPHIC REGIONS (18 hours) - The theory of “Continental Drift”, Plate Tectonics, History of tectonics and animal life on Earth, marine and island tectonics; Glaciations. The Pleistocene glaciations and their effect on non-glacial areas, Pleistocene refugia with particular attention to the effects on European fauna; Biomes. Terrestrial biomes: forests, woodlands, savannahs, prairies, deserts, tundra; Marine communities, Freshwater communities; biomes compared; Biogeographic regions (1). The Palearctic region with a digression on the biogeography of European fauna and the effects of the salinity crisis and glaciations on the fauna of Italy in the Pliocene and Pleistocene; Biogeographic regions (2). Nearctic, Afrotropical, Malagasy, Oriental, Neotropical, Australian, Oceanic. Animal populations of the Arctic and Antarctic regions. Boundaries, subdivisions, and distribution of biomes within them. Analysis of significant faunal elements (endemics, vicariants), with examples based on the main animal taxonomic groups. Transitional zones between zoogeographic regions: Sonoran, Saharan-Sindian, Chinese, and Wallacean (Wallacean, Weber, and Lydekker lineages). RECONSTRUCTING BIOGEOGRAPHIC HISTORY (4 hours) - Systematics, phenetics, phylogeny, molecular systematics, fossil records, and molecular dating; Reconstructing the geographic history of animal lineages and biota. Centers of origin, dispersal, and vicariance, phylogeography, and illustrative case studies. ISLAND BIOGEGRAPHY (4 hours) - Study of island populations (both geographically and ecologically); Continental and oceanic islands; Island faunas and evolution; MacArthur and Wilson's theory of island equilibrium. The program also includes another 8 hours dedicated to open discussions with students on topics of their choice, and 12 hours dedicated to either practical activities (species distribution models, etc.) or in-depth seminars.

Basic knowledge of evolutionary theory, biological systematics, and ecology

C. Barry Cox, Richard J. Ladle, Peter D. Moore. 2020. Biogeography: An Ecological and Evolutionary Approach. Wiley

Not mandatory. Attendance at lectures and workshops is strongly recommended.

The course includes a seminar by the student on a topic agreed upon with the teacher and a final exam to be taken in one of the exam sessions scheduled during the year.

D. Quammen. 1997. The song of the dodo. Scribner M.V. Lomolino. 2020. Biogeography: a very short introduction. Oxford University Press

The course includes lectures and a workshop. Lectures are initially dedicated to acquiring fundamental knowledge of animal and plant biogeography. Online teaching resources are presented during the lessons, along with examples of scientific literature on various topics. The workshop, on the other hand, focuses on the practical learning of typical biogeographic analysis methods.