Biological diversity

a) General:
- Know how to base the common origin of all living beings and its repercussions.
- Relate environmental diversity, organic diversity and the evolutionary process.
- Place organisms on the tree of life and identify the evolutionary relationships between the main groups.
- Recognize taxonomic categories and use the rules of biological nomenclature.
- Recognize the main phases of the development of life on Earth.
- Recognize the main milestones in the history of biological knowledge

b) Specific:
- Identify organisms and associate them with the different modes and types of anatomical, functional and reproductive organization.
- Distinguish between the different phases of life cycles.
- Recognize the identifying characteristics of the main botanical and fauna groups as well as their phylogenetic position.
- Analyze the phenomena of evolutionary convergence and divergence of functional systems as an adaptive response to continuous environmental changes.
- Know the interspecific relationships that may condition the different species and their environmental characteristics.
- Relate the spatio-temporal variation of biodiversity and the maintenance of life.
- Instill notions for the conservation of diversity in ecosystems.

The contents that will be developed in this subject address biological diversity.
The study program to achieve these contents is as follows:

LECTURES (30h: 10h Area of Botany; 20h Area of Zoology)
Area of Botany (10h)
Introduction to the history of life on Earth.
Biological diversity, current and previous vision. Phylogenetic trees and classification of organisms. Nomenclature and taxonomy.
General characteristics of living systems. The three domains: Bacteria, Arquea and Eukaria. Differences between prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. Structure and function of the different types of cells (in multicellular organisms) and their subcellular organelles.
The Protists: Algae. General characteristics. Biological cycles.
Mushroom Kingdom and related groups. General characteristics and diversity.
Plant of the kingdom. Complexity, structure and development.
Non-vascular plants (Bryophytas): biological cycle.
Vascular plants I: Seedless plants (Pteridophytas): biological cycle.
Vascular plants II: Seed plants (gymnosperms and angiosperms). Reproduction.
Area of Zoology (20h)
Animalia Kingdom: origin of animals, animal architecture, body plans. Animal Protostomes and Deuterostomes. Foundations of taxonomy and zoological nomenclature. Classification and phylogeny. Animal reproduction and development.
Phylum Porifers, Cnidarians and Ctnophores: general characteristics and types of organization
Accelomados: Filo Platelmintos. Diagnosis and general characteristics. Classification and examples of life cycles.
Pseudocellomas: definition and general characters. Rotiferous Edge. Nematode Edge
Celomados: definition and general characters. Mollusk Phylum: general characteristics, organization, reproduction and classification.
Phylum Annelids: general characteristics, organization, reproduction and classification.
Arthropod Edge: Definition, general characteristics and classification.
Quelicerados: general characteristics, organization and classification.
Crustaceans: general characteristics, organization and classification.
Myriapods: definition, general characteristics and classification
Hexapods: general characteristics. Biology and classification. Collembola, Proturos and Diplomas. Exopterigotas and Endopterygotas
Deuterostome animals: Phylum Echinoderms: general characteristics and organization.
Filo Chordates: Definition and general characters. General characteristics of vertebrates, classification. Agnatos Overview
Gnathostomes: definition. Chondrichthya and Osteictios: general characters. Structural and functional adaptations for life in water.
Tetrapods: adaptation to the terrestrial environment. Amphibians: general characteristics and organization. Classification. Reproduction and development
Reptiles: General characteristics and organization. Classification
Birds: General characteristics and organization; functional and structural adaptations for flight. Classification
Mammals: general characteristics, functional and structural adaptations. Classification. Reproduction and development


SEMINARS (3 hours: 1h Area of Botany; 2h Area of Zoology)
Biodiversity and conservation (2 hours)
Invasive species (1 hour)


LABORATORY PRACTICES (15hours: 6h Area of Botany; 9h Area of Zoology)
Area of Botany
Practice 1.- Diversity I: Talophytes (Talophites: Algae, Fungi and Lichens) (1:30)
Practice 2.- Diversity II: Seedless plants (Bryophytes and Pteridophytes) (1:30)
Practice 3.- Diversity III: Spermatophytes (Gymnosperms and Angiosperms) (1:30)
Practice 4.- Organography (Structure of the roots, stems and leaves of Cormophytes) (1:30)
Area of Zoology
Practice 5.- Invertebrates in arthropods. Acelomados, pseudocelomados, anelidos (1:30)
Practice 6.- Molluscs and echinoderms (1:30)
Practice 7.- Arthropods 1. Quelicerates and shellfish. (1:30)
Practice 8.- Arthropods 2. Insects and other groups of terrestrial jaws. (1h: 30)
Practice 9.- Chordates 1. Urocordadas, cefalocordados, fish and amphibians (1:30)
Practice 10.- Chordates 2. Reptiles, birds and mammals (1:30)

ACTIVITIES ON THE VIRTUAL CAMPUS
- Preparation of a Glossary of terms Galician-Spanish-English
- Self-assessment exercises

Basic Bibliography

Brusca, R. C., e Brusca, G. J. 2005. Invertebrados. Ec. McGraw-Hill-Interamericana.
Curry, J.P. 1994.Grassland Invertebrates: Ecology, influence on soil fertility and effects on plant growth. Ed. Chapman&Hall.
Curtis, H.; N. Sue Barnes. 2008. Biología. 7ª ed. Ed. Panamericana.
de la Fuente, J. A. 1982. Artrópodos. I. Características xerais, Dpto. Zoología, Univ. Salamanca.
de la Fuente, J. A. 1994. Zoología de Artrópodos, Ed. McGraw-Hill-Interamericana de España, Madrid.
Esau, K. 1987. Anatomía de las plantas con semilla. Ed. Hemisferio Sur.
Hickman, J.R.; Cleveland, P.; Keen, S.L.; Eisenhour, D.J.; Larson, A.; L´anson, H.2021. Principios integrales de Zoología. Servet Edra, Zaragoza, 924 pp
Kardong, K. V. 1999. Vertebrados: anatomía comparada, función, evolución, Ed. McGraw-Hill Interamericana, Madrid.
Raven, P. H.; R. F. Evert; S. E. Eichhorn. 1992. Biología de las plantas. 2 tomos. Ed. Reverté.

Complementary bibliography

Aira, Mª J., Vázquez, R.A. e Izco, J. Eds. 2014. Manual de prácticas de botánica: laboratorio y campo. Servizo de Publicacións e intercambio Científico. Santiago de Compostela.
Barnes, R. S. K., Calow, P., e Olive, P. J. W. 1993. The Invertebrates: a new synthesis, Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford,. Birch, M. C. e Hainer, K. F. 1990. Feromonas de insectos, Ed. Oikos-Tau, Barcelona.
Díaz, J. A. e Santos, T.1998. Aproximación evolutiva a la diversidad e organización de los animales, Ed. Síntesis, Madrid.
Malakhov, V. V.1994 Nematodos: Structure, Development, Classification and Phylogeny, Smithsonian Institution.
Mueller, GM, Bills, GF, Foster, MS. 2004. Biodiversity of Fungi. Inventoring and Monitoring Methods. Elsevier Academic Press. Amsterdam. Nabors, M. W. 2006. Introducción a la Botánica. Pearson Educación. Madrid.
Richards, O. W. e Davies, R. G. 1983. Tratado de Entomología Imms. 1 Estructura, Fisiología y Desarrollo, ed. Omega, Barcelona.
Richards, O. W. e Davies, R. G. 1984. Tratado de Entomología Imms. 2. Clasificación y Biología, ed. Omega, Barcelona.
Rodríguez, Mª C., P. De Sáa; R.A. Vázquez. 2004. Citología, Histología y Organografía Vegetal. In: Rodríguez, F. (Ed.). Galicia Naturaleza. Tomo XLI, Botánica I: 17-134. Hércules Ediciones, A Coruña.
Vaughan, T. A. 1988. Mamíferos, Interamericana, México.
Weichert, C. K. e Presch, W.1981. Elementos de anatomía de los cordados, Ed. McGraw-Hill, México.
Wessels, N. K.1979. Adaptaciones estructurales de los vertebrados en Scientific American: Vertebrados: estructura y función, Ed. Blume, Madrid.

Web-grafía (Accessed: May 2024)
The Joy of Science. Richard A. Lockshin. 2007.http://link.springer.com/openurl?genre=book&isbn=978-1-4020-6099-1.
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bacterial_morphology_diagram-es…
http://www.biologia.edu.ar/plantas/indplantas.htm
http://botit.botany.wisc.edu/Anatomy/Glossary/Anatomy-glossary.html#anc…

Comp01: Develop the ability to organize and plan the work adequately, based on a synthesis and analysis that allows making decisions. TYPE: Competences
Comp04: Act with professionalism following ethical principles, scientific rigor and sustainable development. TYPE: Competences
Con01: Recognize the structure and function of the different cell types. Understand diversity and remember biological taxonomy. TYPE: Knowledge or content

H/D01: Properly apply physical, chemical, mathematical and statistical tools to the study of biological processes. TYPE: Skills and abilities


Worked competences
1. Lectures: Con01
2. Seminars: Comp01;Comp04
3. Practicals: H/D01;Con01

EXPENSE OF ATTENDANCE: there is no exemption from attendance at the sessions corresponding to interactive classroom teaching

Theoretical teaching will take place during the first semester, according to the schedule approved by the center; the material used in each theory class will be available to students in advance on the virtual platform. The theoretical classes will consist of the explanation of the contents of the subject, by the teachers using the blackboard and the audiovisual media.
Seminars are complementary activities on various aspects of the subject.

Practical teaching (it will serve to illustrate the theoretical contents of the subject and will be fundamentally oriented towards the students acquiring practical skills and experience); Its development will be as follows:

- Brief introduction by the teacher.
- Carrying out practice, according to the guidelines set by a script, under the supervision and supervision of the teaching staff.
- Delivery of a paper on what was done during practice.

All the tasks of the student body (study, works, readings) will be guided by the academic staff in the tutoring sessions.

USC-virtual:
- The tools available in the virtual USC will be used to provide students with the necessary material for the development of the subject (presentations, notes, supporting texts, bibliography, etc.) and to establish fluid communication between students and teachers.

For cases of fraudulent performance of exercises or tests, the provisions of the "Regulations for the evaluation of the academic performance of students and review of grades" will apply:
"The fraudulent performance of any exercise or test required in the evaluation of a subject will imply a failing grade in the corresponding call, regardless of the disciplinary process that may be followed against the offending student. It will be considered fraudulent, among others, the completion of work plagiarized or obtained from publicly available sources without reworking or reinterpretation and without citation to the authors and sources".
ORIGINALITY OF THE WORK SUBMITTED
Certain rules must be followed in the preparation of papers and questionnaires during the course:
1. Any literal quotation of text and/or figures taken from a book, offprint, class notes or a web page must be correctly referenced. Otherwise, it will be considered as plagiarism (action and effect of copying, not substantial, other people's works, giving them as one's own).
2. It will also be considered plagiarism if the copy is from another classmate, or if a work written by another person is handed in, pretending to be the author of the same.
3. The detection of any of these forms of plagiarism will mean that the work will not be taken into consideration and will have to be redone; in addition, if the plagiarism is reiterated, it will entail the absence of the corresponding grade in the final grade of the subject.
4. In the case of the questionnaires, if copying is detected in the answers of a part of the students, it will entail the absence of the corresponding grade in the final grade of the subject for all the detected cases.
REPEATERS: the grades obtained in the different activities during an academic year will not be saved for subsequent years, so they will have to be repeated in their entirety.
The final grade for the subject will be the sum of the points obtained in the following sections:
1. Theoretical exam (50% of the final grade, distributed in 20% for Botany and 30% for Zoology). It is essential to pass both parts to add the rest of the scores. The exam grade will always be complementary to the continuous evaluation grade.
Evaluated competences: Con01, Comp04
2. Attendance, attitude and use of the practices as well as the elaboration of a memory of each one of them and the elaboration of a glossary of terms in Galician, Spanish and English (30% of the final grade). The practicals will be compulsory and non-attendance will mean having to take a practical exam at the end of the course.
Assessed competences: Con01, HD01, Comp04
3. Elaboration and presentation of a work (10%).
Assessed competencies: Con01, HD01, Comp01, Comp04
4. Continuous evaluation by answering questionnaires at the end of each topic and of the seminars, together with active participation in the classes (10% of the final grade). At the end of the lecture time, there will not be a new possibility to answer the questionnaires.
Evaluated competencies: Con01
The grades obtained in the ordinary opportunity in sections 3 and 4 will be the same in the second opportunity; that is to say, there is no possibility to hand in a new paper or to answer the questionnaires again.

Contact hours:
Exhibition classes: 30 hours
Interactive classes (laboratory and seminars): 15 + 3 hours Tutoring: 3 hours
Evaluation activities: 4 hours Total classroom hours: 55

Students' personal work
Reading and preparation of topics: 30 hours
Reading and preparation of interactive classes: 15 hours Preparation of other evaluation activities: 20 hours Exam preparation: 30 hours
Total non-contact hours: 90 hours

- Total student work hours: 150 hours

- Face-to-face and participatory assistance in theory classes and, especially, in laboratory practices since they are compulsory.
- Consultation of the recommended bibliography as well as the material available on the Virtual Campus.
- Use of teacher tutoring hours for queries and clarifications