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BIO 313 ANIMAL ECOLOGY Corrected NATIONAL OPEN UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA SCHOOL OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COURSE CODE: BIO 314 COURSE TITLE: ANIMAL ECOLOGY 1 BIO 314: ANIMAL ECOLOGY Team Writers: Dr O.A. Olajuyigbe Department of Biology Adeyemi Colledge of Education, P.M.B. 520, Ondo, Ondo State Nigeria. Miss F.C. Olakolu Nigerian Institute for Oceanography and Marine Research, No 3 Wilmot Point Road, Bar-beach Bus-stop, Victoria Island, Lagos, Nigeria. Mrs H.O. Omogoriola Nigerian Institute for Oceanography and Marine Research, No 3 Wilmot Point Road, Bar-beach Bus-stop, Victoria Island, Lagos, Nigeria. EDITOR: Mrs Ajetomobi School of Agricultural Sciences Lagos State Polytechnic Ikorodu, Lagos 2 BIO 313 COURSE GUIDE Introduction Animal Ecology (313) is a first semester course. It is a two credit unit elective course which all students offering Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Biology can take. Animal ecology is an important area of study for scientists. It is the study of animals and how they related to each other as well as their environment. It can also be defined as the scientific study of interactions that determine the distribution and abundance of organisms. Since this is a course in animal ecology, we will focus on animals, which we will define fairly generally as organisms that can move around during some stages of their life and that must feed on other organisms or their products. There are various forms of animal ecology. This includes: • Behavioral ecology, the study of the behavior of the animals with relation to their environment and others • Population ecology, the study of the effects on the population of these animals • Marine ecology is the scientific study of marine-life habitat, populations, and interactions among organisms and the surrounding environment including their abiotic (non-living physical and chemical factors that affect the ability of organisms to survive and reproduce) and biotic factors (living things or the materials that directly or indirectly affect an organism in its environment). • Evolutionary ecology is the study of how animals evolve over time to meet the demands on them This course deals with the historical concept of ecology, ecology of local and aquatic animals. The other contents are growth rate, age structure of animal population, Natality and Mortality, Survivorship Curves, Life Tables and K-Factor Analysis, Competition, The Natural Regulation of Animal Numbers, Population Cycles, Dynamics of Predator-Prey Systems, Ecology of African Mammals and Behavioural Ecology. What you will learn in this course In this course, you have the course units and a course guide. The course guide will tell you briefly what the course is all about. It is a general overview of the course materials you will be using and how to use those materials. It also helps you to allocate the appropriate time to each unit so that you can successfully complete the course within the stipulated time limit. The course guide also helps you to know how to go about your Tutor-Marked-Assignment which will form part of your overall assessment at the end of the course. Also, there will be tutorial classes that are related to this course, where you can interact with your facilitators and other students. Please I encourage you to attend these tutorial classes. This course exposes you to Animal Ecology, a sub-discipline and very interesting field of Biology. 3 Course Aims This course aims to enable you to know/understand the relationship between animals in their ecosystem and environment. Course Objectives To achieve the aim set above, there are objectives. Each unit has a set of objectives presented at the beginning of the unit. These objectives will give you what to concentrate and focus on while studying the unit and during your study to check your progress. The Comprehensive Objectives of the Course are given below. At the end of the course/after going through this course, you should be able to: 1.0 Explain the historical background of animal ecology 2.0 Mention the names of the scientists involved and their contribution to the development of animal ecology 3.0 Explain the basic fundamental of ecology and its components 4.0 Explain the various relationships influencing the ecological community 5.0 State and explain the different type of ecosystem components 6.0 Describe the levels of energy flow in ecosystem. 7.0 Explain the ecology of different fish species 8.0 Explain the ecology of Sea-turtle species 9.0 Define demography 10.0 Explain the term direct and indirect demographic 11.0 List and explain eight methods used in demographics. 12.0 List and discuss three ways by which population can be changed Working through the Course To successfully complete this course, you are required to read each study unit, read the textbooks and other materials provided by the National Open University. Reading the reference materials can also be of great assistance. Each unit has self –assessment exercise which you are advised to do. At certain periods during the course you will be required to submit your assignments for the purpose of assessment. There will be a final examination at the end of the course. The course should take you about17 weeks to complete. This course guide provides you with all the components of the course, how to go about studying and how you should allocate your time to each unit so as to finish on time and successfully. 4 The Course Materials The main components of the course are: 1 The Study Guide 2 Study Units 3 Reference/ Further Readings 4 Assignments 5 Presentation Schedule Study Units The study units in this course are given below: BIO 313 ANIMAL ECOLOGY (2 UNITS) Module 1: Introduction to Animal Ecology Unit 1: Historical Background of Animal Ecology Unit 2: Fundamentals of Ecology Unit 3: Ecology of Terrestrial animals and aquatic animals Module 2: Ecological Population Unit 1: Growth rate and Age structure of animal population Unit 2: Factors affecting Population Unit 3: Measurement of Population dynamics Unit 4: Life tables and K-factor analysis MODULE 3: COMPETITION IN ORGANISMS Unit 1 Competition (Biology) Unit 2 Resources Contributing To Competition among Organisms. 5 MODULE 4: POPULATION IN ANIMAL ECOLOGY Unit 1 Population Unit 2 Population Cycle Unit3 Animal Population Control Unit 4 Population Cycles In A Predator-Prey System Unit 5 Demography MODULE 5: BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY OF AFRICAN MAMMALS Unit 1 Behavioral Ecology Unit 2 Bat - Case Study Of An African Mammal In Module One, unit one deals with the history and current understanding of Animal Ecology and how organisms and its environment relate and influence one another in their various ecosystems. You are taught about the fundamentals of ecology; the ecology of animals integrate the organisms (animal) and their environment dependently Module Two is concerned with the growth and regulation of population size, as well as the factors influencing them. Populations are not stable and always exhibit up and down variations in response to changes in environmental or intrinsic factors. The measurement of population dynamics is very important in ecological study of animals. Life table and Key- factor analysis has been applied to a variety of animal species. Module Three, unit one and two deals with competition and resources that gave a forum for competition. In Module Four, the first four units deal with predators, prey, plants, and parasites and how all influence changes in population sizes over time. Simple systems may undergo large, cyclical changes, but communities with more complex food webs are likely to experience more subtle shifts in response to changes in parasite load, predation pressure, and herbivore. In unit five, demography is explained. Module Five, unit one is focused on Behavioral ecology and a case study of African mammal e.g Bat in unit two. Each unit will take a week or two lectures, will include an introduction, objectives, reading materials, self assessment question(s), conclusion, summary, tutor-marked assignments (TMAs), references and other reading resources. 6 There are activities related to the lecture in each unit which will help your progress and comprehension of the unit. You are required to work on these exercises which together with the TMAs will enable you to achieve the objective of each unit. Presentation Schedule There is a time-table prepared for the early and timely completion and submissions of your TMAs as well as attending the tutorial classes. You are required to submit all your assignments by the stipulated date and time. Avoid falling behind the schedule time. Assessment There are three aspects to the assessment of this course. The first one is the self-assessment exercises. The second is the tutor-marked assignments and the third is the written examination or the examination to be taken at the end of the course. Do the exercises or activities in the unit applying the information and knowledge you acquired during the course. The tutor-marked assignments must be submitted to your facilitator for formal assessment in accordance with the deadlines stated in the presentation schedule and the assignment file. The work submitted to your tutor for assessment will account for 30% of your total work. At the end of this course you have to sit for a final or end of course examination of about a three hour duration which will account for 70% of your total course mark. Tutor Marked Assignment This is the continuous assessment component of this course and it accounts for 30% of the total score. You will be given four (4) TMAs by your facilitator to answer. Three of which must be answered before you are allowed to sit for the end of the course examination. These answered assignments must be returned to your facilitator.
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