Syllabus
Diversity of insect: how diverse insect is, causes of insect diversity, patterns and causes of unequal distribution of insect diversity - latitude, altitude, and other factors, biogeography, hotspots.
Insect in communities and ecosystems: Herbivory - advantages and disadvantages of herbivory for insects, plant defence against herbivores, specialisation of insect herbivores, impact of insect herbivory on ecosystems and communities. Pollination - origin and evolutionary importance of pollination by insects and other animals, rewards for plant visitors, insect-related pollination syndromes, specialisation/generalisation of pollination systems. Predation - insects as predators and prey, impact of insect predation on communities, specialisation of insect predators, interactions among predators and prey in complex trophic networks. Other roles of insects in communities - parasitoids, parasites, entomochory, relationships with ants, more complicated mutualism, trade-offs. Insect migrations.
Importance and conservation of insects: Importance of insects for humans, ecosystem service and other economic aspects, insects as pathogen vectors, reasons for insect conservation, status and causes of insect endangerement, insect specifics in conservation biology, causes of endangerement and principles of conservation of insects in Czechia.
Annotation
The course is focused on introduction to ecology of insects and their role in ecosystems. The main emphases are laid on interactions among organisms, ecology of communities, biodiversity patterns and theoretical backgrounds and practical principles of conservation of various insect groups.
The course starts in the first semester week, i.e. on Monday 13th February 2023.