Unit name | Insect Biology |
---|---|
Unit code | BIOL20204 |
Credit points | 10 |
Level of study | I/5 |
Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2D (weeks 19 - 24) |
Unit director | Professor. Wall |
Open unit status | Not open |
Pre-requisites |
None. It is recommended that students should normally have 120 credit points of appropriate L1 units or BIOL11000 or BIOL12000 or A level Biology. |
Co-requisites |
None |
School/department | School of Biological Sciences |
Faculty | Faculty of Life Sciences |
Aim:
To introduce you to the morphology and physiology of insects, their development and life-cycles, their evolution, behaviour and ecology.
There are more species of insect on earth than all other animals combined. Dazzlingly beautiful, behaviourally complex and ecologically essential, they play fundamental roles in almost all biological communities and ecosystems. This unit will introduce you to the morphology and physiology of insects, their development and life cycles, their evolution, behaviour and ecology. The unit will adopt an ecological perspective and emphasise the intimate relationships between insects, their behaviour and their environment.
Topics include: insect diversity and abundance, external morphology, the cuticle and moulting, digestion, nutrition and feeding, excretory systems, the tracheal system, the circulatory system, reproductive systems, flight and locomotion, sensory systems, and receptors, the naming and classification of insects, insect evolution, insect development and insect reproduction.
Successful completion of the unit will enable you to:
Self-directed learning week. Students are expected to spend this time on directed reading.
Attendance at practicals and completion of specified practical reports is mandatory.
Continuous assessment (40%). End of Session exam (60%).
Insects. An Outline of Entomology 3rd edition, PJ Gullan & PS Cranston. Blackwells, Oxford.