ECTS credits ECTS credits: 4.5
ECTS Hours Rules/Memories Hours of tutorials: 1 Expository Class: 26 Interactive Classroom: 14 Total: 41
Use languages Spanish, Galician
Type: Ordinary Degree Subject RD 1393/2007 - 822/2021
Departments: Zoology, Genetics and Physical Anthropology
Areas: Zoology
Center Faculty of Biology
Call: Second Semester
Teaching: With teaching
Enrolment: Enrollable
To offer the student a general and updated overview of the studies of this matter. The student is expected to know
On successful completion of this subject, students will be able to:
Expose the essential ecological processes of rivers and lakes.
Explain the basic processes involved in the alteration of freshwaters by human activities and the effects of different types of pollution on organisms and populations.
Handle the terminology and methodologies of limnology.
Describe the composition and basic structure of plankton, benthos, nekton and neuston communities of inland waters and their distribution patterns.
Apply methods for the characterisation of water quality from a physical-chemical and biological point of view.
General
The subject "Biology of Inland Waters" is taken in the eighth semester and consists of 4.5 ECTS credits. The programme is divided into nine thematic blocks of unequal duration (theoretical teaching 26 hours).
1. Historical introduction. Concepts and definition of terms. Water from the physico-chemical point of view. The water cycle. Notions of hydrology. 2 h
2. Macrophytes. Biological types and adaptations. Periphyton and biofilm. 2 h
3. Zoobenthos. Community composition and diversity. Anatomical, ethological and physiological adaptations. Main distribution factors. 3 h
4. Fishes: morphology and classification. Adaptations to pelagic and benthic life. Feeding: feeding regimes, mechanisms and feeding behaviour. Reproduction, growth and demography. Migrations. Main distribution factors and ichthyological zones. Iberian ichthyofauna: biology and ecology of the most representative species. 3 h
5. Amphibians and other vertebrates linked to the aquatic environment. Generalities and classification. 2 h
6. Drift and recolonisation. 2 h
7. River zonation. Functioning of lotic ecosystems. 2 h
8. Neuston, main groups, classification and adaptations. 3 h
9. Plankton: Phytoplankton and Zooplankton. Adaptations. Ecology of phytoplankton. Micro-consumers of phytoplankton. Zooplankton: composition, diversity and distribution of communities. 3 h
10. Lentic environments, characteristics, stratification and mixing. 2 h
11. Alterations of freshwaters by human activities. Ecosystem diagnosis, monitoring and restoration. Methods for biological characterisation of water quality. Basic principles for river and riverbank restoration. Impact studies. 2 h
Other teaching activities:
Small group tutorials: The tutorials will deal with questions related to the theoretical classes and the preparation of the work to be presented at the end of the course (1 h).
Interactive teaching seminars: Five seminars on emerging problems in inland water biology are foreseen (5 h):
1.- Design of sampling strategies and methodology.
2.- Hydrological variables.
3.-Cenotic analysis and community analysis.
Biological quality.
5.- European Water Framework Directive.
Interactive teaching in the laboratory/computer classroom: students are expected to carry out a project, which they will present in the corresponding sessions. The choice of the topic and the date of the presentation will be made at the beginning of the course (4 hours).
Field practicals
Sampling of zoobenthos and electrofishing (4 hours).
Basic
ALLAN J. D.. Stream Ecology: Structure and function of running waters. Chapman & Hall. 1995.
HYNES, H.B.N.- The ecology of running waters. Liverpool University Press.1972
JEFFRIES M. y MILLS D. Freshwater Ecology.Principles and Applications. John Wiley & Sons. 1990
HAUER F. R. y LAMBERTI G. A. Methods in Steram Ecology. Academic Press. 1996.
LACROIX, G.- Lagos y ríos, medios vivos. Ecoguias Ed. Plural. 1992University Press. 1997.
LAMPERT, W. y SOMMER, U.- Limnoecology. Oxford University Press. 1997
MARGALEF, R.- Limnología, Ed Omega, 1983.
MASON, C.F.- Biología de la contaminación del agua dulce. Col. Exedra nº 142. Ed Alhambra. 1984.
POURRIOT R. y MEYBECK M.. Limnologie génerale. Col d´Ecologie 25. Masson. 1995.
ROSENBERG, D.M. y RESH, V.H. Ed.- Freshwater biomonitoring and benthic macroinvertebrates. Chapman & Hall, Inc. 1993.
complementary
GONZÁLEZ, M.A. & COBO, F. (2006) Los macroinvertebrados de las aguas dulces de Galicia. Hércules de Ediciones S.A, A Coruña, 173 pp.
COBO, F.; GONZÁLEZ, M.A.; VIEIRA-LANERO, R. & SERVIA, M.J. (2006) “O río animado” Biodiversidade dos ecosistemas acuáticos continentais galegos. Fernando Cobo Ed. Unidixital, Santiago de Compostela 64 pp.
En esta materia el alumnado adquirirá los siguientes conocimientos, habilidades y competencias:
Conocimientos/contenidos: Con02, Con04, Con08, Con09, Con10, Con11
Habilidades/destrezas: H/D05, H/D06, H/D07, H/D08, H/D11, H/D12
Competencias: Com01, Com02, Com05, Com06
The approach of the subject will be theoretical/practical, combining theory classes with the writing of papers by the students and their subsequent presentation, which will serve to complement the training received in the classroom.
In this subject the student will acquire or practice a series of generic and specific competences desirable in any university degree and, in particular, for professionals in the field of Limnology.
The teaching activities will be compulsory in all cases:
2 hours of theoretical classes per week in a four-monthly programme.
- Expository and interactive classes: The classes will be carried out by means of lectures (exposition and discussion of topics) where the teacher will try to emphasise the most important aspects of the subject, and where the assimilation of the contents by the students will be verified.
- Interactive teaching-seminars: Five seminars are planned, dealing with emerging problems in inland water biology.
- Practical work: students are expected to carry out individual work, which will be presented at the end of the course. The choice of topic and the date of presentation will be made at the beginning of the course. The work will be presented to the teacher in Adove Acrobat pdf format, or in Power Point pptx with incorporated sound transformed into mp4 video format, in which case it will be 10 minutes long. It will consist of a critical analysis of the chosen topic based on information provided by AI applications such as ChatGPT. It will be presented as a sequence of questions asked to the programme, the answer obtained and the correction/expansion of the information provided by the student.
- Tutorials: These will be mainly face-to-face, although they may be partially virtual depending on the progress of the course. The tutorials will deal with questions related to the theoretical classes and the preparation of the work to be presented at the end of the course.
Teoría: Se realizará una prueba teórica, final y obligatoria, complementaria a la evaluación continua, en la fecha convocada por el Decanato. Esta prueba consistirá en un examen escrito sobre diversas cuestiones contenidas en el programa de la asignatura (60%).
Elaboración de trabajos: Es obligatoria la presentación de un trabajo sobre el análisis crítico de la información proporcionada, a partir de fuentes de IA, de algunos aspectos de la disciplina. Se valorará la capacidad crítica para analizar la información, la capacidad de respuesta a las preguntas formuladas y la presentación del trabajo (40%).
El seguimiento de la evaluación continua se realizará a través de las tutorías con la revisión periódica del avance del trabajo.
La superación de la asignatura supone la obtención de una nota mínima de aprobado (5), tanto en el examen teórico como en el trabajo. En el caso de aprobar únicamente una de las dos partes (examen o trabajo), el aprobado se conservará únicamente para las convocatorias del curso académico correspondiente.
La nota final de la asignatura se obtendrá según el siguiente baremo: la parte teórica representará el 60% de la nota, y el trabajo el 40%.
En la segunda oportunidad se guardará el pase parcial si se logró en cualquiera de las dos partes, pero no para el año siguiente.
El sistema de evaluación de los estudiantes repetidores será idéntico al de los estudiantes que cursan la asignatura por primera vez.
Para los casos de realización fraudulenta de ejercicios o pruebas se aplicará lo incluido en la Norma para la evaluación del rendimiento académico de los estudiantes y la revisión de calificaciones.
Classroom work.
Lectures: 26 h
Seminars: 5 h
Laboratory practicals: 4 h
Field practicals: 4 h.
Qualifying exams: 2 h.
Tutoring in small groups: 1 h
Total hours of classroom work: 42 h.
Personal work of the student
Work preparation: 15 h
Study time: 55.5 h
Total hours of personal work: 70.5
TOTAL HOURS OF THE COURSE: 4.5 X 25 = 112.5 h
Attendance to the classes.
Use of the recommended bibliography.
Make use of the tutoring hours to clarify and discuss possible doubts about the contents taught and about the scheme and development of the work to be done.
Fernando Cobo Gradin
- Department
- Zoology, Genetics and Physical Anthropology
- Area
- Zoology
- Phone
- 881813251
- fernando.cobo [at] usc.es
- Category
- Professor: University Professor
| Tuesday | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 11:00-12:00 | Grupo /CLE_01 | Spanish | Classroom 06. Diane Fosey and Jane Goodall |
| 05.22.2025 10:00-14:00 | Grupo /CLE_01 | Classroom 01. Charles Darwin |
| 05.22.2025 10:00-14:00 | Grupo /CLE_01 | Classroom 02. Gregor Mendel |
| 07.04.2025 10:00-14:00 | Grupo /CLE_01 | Classroom 04: James Watson and Francis Crick |