Diversity of Insects - MB170P98
Title: Biodiverzita hmyzu
Czech title: Biodiverzita hmyzu
Guaranteed by: Department of Zoology (31-170)
Faculty: Faculty of Science
Actual: from 2022
Semester: winter
E-Credits: 3
Examination process: winter s.:
Hours per week, examination: winter s.:2/0, Ex [HT]
Capacity: unlimited
Min. number of students: 3
4EU+: no
Virtual mobility / capacity: no
State of the course: taught
Language: English, Czech
Additional information: http://dl2.cuni.cz/course/view.php?id=2167
Note: enabled for web enrollment
Guarantor: RNDr. Jiří Hadrava, Ph.D.
Teacher(s): RNDr. Jiří Hadrava, Ph.D.
Mgr. Petr Janšta, Ph.D.
Mgr. Michael Mikát, Ph.D.
Mgr. Petr Šípek, Ph.D.
Opinion survey results   Examination dates   WS schedule   
Annotation -
IN CASE THAT ANY FOREIGN STUDENT IS ATTENDING THE LECTURE, THE COURSE IS TAUGHT IN ENGLISH. ALL PRESENTATIONS ARE IN ENGLISH.

How many species of insects are there in the world? Do we know why is the insect the most diverse group of animals? Is this exceptional diversity present in all groups of insects or just in some of them and why? Was the insect diversity so high even in the past? What are the reasons to study insect diversity, and what are the pitfalls? Are the insect taxonomists really proper scientists and are the museum collections good for anything? What are the usual and controversial ways to study insect biodiversity? Why is insect collecting not allowed and not prohibited? Has insect biodiversity even had some direct impact on a human beings? The lecture provides the basic information
concerning the insect diversity allowing to answer and discuss the above (and many more) questions.

The course is open for all students (bachelor, master, and doctoral level) without any special requirements, but previous passing of some basic Invertebrate Zoology and/or Basics of Evolutionary Biology courses may be an advantage. Contact M. Fikáček (mfikacek@gmail.com) in case you are not sure whether to sign for the course or not.

In winter semester 2020/21 the course will run in a usual way until the epidemiological situation and internal rules of Charles University allow that. In case the situation will worsen, the course will continue in an online way via Skype or Zoom (which also applies for the final exam).

In 2021/22 will all lectures by M. Fikáček (8 lectures including the first one) and by P. Janšta (2 lectures) be online, because they are both abroad for this semester.
Last update: Janšta Petr, Mgr., Ph.D. (27.09.2021)
Literature -

Grimaldi D. & Engel M. (2004) Evolution of the insects. Cambridge Press.
Futuyma D. J. (2009) Evolution. Second Edition. Sinauer Associates Ltd.
Lomolino M. V., Riddle B. R., Whittaker R. J. & Brown J. H. (2010) Biogeography. Fourth Edition. Sinauer Associated Ltd.
Winston J. (1999) Describing species. Practical taxonomic procedure for biologists. Columbia University Press.

Additional references to particular topics (for voluntary reading) are available at http://www.cercyon.eu/Biodiverzita.htm (at the moment slightly outdated, I will update before each lecture).

Last update: Fikáček Martin, Mgr., Ph.D. (07.08.2016)
Requirements to the exam -

Combination of written and oral. It will start with a written test, when the student will pass that successfully, he/she will be allowed for oral part. Oral part will be a discussion in the extent of the lectures. Exam is in English for foreign students, and in English or Czech for Czech students.

I case of bad epidemiological situation in winter semester 2020/21, the exam will be the same, just done in an online way.

Last update: Fikáček Martin, Mgr., Ph.D. (17.09.2020)
Syllabus -

Evolution of the insect diversity in the past
Diversity of insects today
Morphological diversity of the insects and its reasons
Speciation, species-concepts and biogeographic issues of selected insect groups
Genetic diversity of the insects
Coevolution as the reason for high insect diversity
How to study insect diversity: "classic" taxonomy and its pros and cons
How to study insect diversity: modern methods and examples of their use
Conservation of insect diversity in theory and praxis
The importance of insect diversity for humans.

Last update: Fikáček Martin, Mgr., Ph.D. (07.08.2016)