Seminar in Ecological Morphology
BIO 592 (1 credit)   Spring 2001

  Weekly discussion of readings in Ecological Morphology on the relationship between the morphology of an organism and its environment. Part one will introduce the major concepts of ecological morphology and the approaches that have been used to address central research questions. Part two will focus on a wide range of case studies, see chapters below. First meeting to arrange time is Friday 4pm BISC114  Dr. Wilga, cwilga@uri.edu.

 Contents

1. Introduction

Part I. Concepts, Issues, and Approaches

2. Ecological and Evolutionary Inferences from Morphology: An Ecological Perspective

3. Functional Morphology as a Tool in Ecological Research

4. Adaptation, Constraint, and the Comparative Method: Phylogenetic Issues and Methods

5. Evaluating the Adaptive Role of Morphological Plasticity

6. Allometric Aspects of Predator-Prey Interactions

7. Ecomorphological Analysis of Fossil Vertebrates and Their Paleocommunities

Part II. Model Systems

8. Roles of Hydrodynamics in the Study of Wave-Swept Shores

9. Wing Design, Flight Performance, and Habitat Use in Bats

10. Ecological Morphology of Locomoter Performance in Squamate Reptiles

11. The Role of Physiological Capacity, Morphology, and Phylogeny in Determining Habitat Use in Mosquitoes

12. The Ecological Morphology of Metamorphosis: Heterochrony and the Evolution of Feeding Mechanisms in Salamanders

13. Conclusion: Ecological Morphology and the Power of Integration