20598 Animal-Plant Interactions

Credits: 3 advanced credits in Life Sciences

Prerequisites: General Biology I, General Biology II; Biochemistry I; one of the following: Faunistics of Vertebrates in Israel, Insects, Vertebrates, Selected Topics in Animal Behavior. Students must also fulfill all English requirements and take bibliographic instruction in the Library.

Recommended: Vegetation of Israel, Ecology, Plants and Vegetation, Symbiosis

Authors: Anat Barnea, Dan Eisikowitch

The course discusses aspects of the complex interactions that exist between plants and animals. The general principles are presented together with examples from various systematic groups.

The materials include an introductory unit and five readers, each of which deals with one of the topics below. The course covers two of the topics (each including a mandatory field trip), which change from semester to semester. There are three mandatory tutorial sessions.

Topics: Introduction: defines terms and provides the general basis needed for understanding the interactions; Interactions between plants and herbivores; Flower-pollinator interactions in Ficus and Yucca; The role of bees in agriculture; Genetically modified organisms (GMO): a conflict between scientific advancement and the environment; Seed predation and dispersal by animals: the significance of these processes in germination.