The University of Jordan
Faculty of Agriculture
Program:
Plant Protection Department
2013-2014/First semester
Course title: Insect Ecology (606418)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Credit hours
3
Level
Third year
Pre-requisite
Coordinator/ Lecturer
Dr. Salaheddin Alaraj
Office number
2nd floor
Office phone
General
Entomology
(606212)
22345
E-mail
s.alaraj@ju.edu.jo
Place
181
Course website
Office hours
Day/Time
Day
Time
Sunday
*
10-11
Monday
-
Tuesday
*
10-11
Wednesday
*
10-11
Thursday
*
10-11
Course Description
This course incorporated population ecology, and applied ecology. It deals with
elementary concepts of insect ecology, the various factors regulating abundance and
distribution of insect populations, the tritrophic relationship between host plants/herbivores
/natural enemies, and the applied aspects of insect ecology in plant protection.
Learning Objectives
1.
2.
3.
4.
To develop a knowledge and understanding of ecological principles at the individual
(physiological & behavioral), and population levels.
Awareness of students with the factors related to insects distribution and what factors affect their
abundance
To develop a knowledge and understanding of the mechanisms that mediate interactions of insects
with their biotic and a biotic environments
To think ingenuity how to control insect pests with minimum disturbance to the environment.
Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs):
Successful completion of the course should lead to the following outcomes:
A. Knowledge and Understanding: Student is expected to
A1- Gain student information for sources related to insect ecology.
A2- Demonstrate basic knowledge on insect ecology
A3-Understand biotic and a biotic factors which are influencing insects survival
A4- Reflect about the relevance of global worming
A5- Apply and analyze methods of modeling technology
A6- Explain the underlying ecological, physiological aspects which can affect insects distribution
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B. Intellectual Analytical and Cognitive Skills: Student is expected to
B1- Practical strategy how to cease down the pest problems using a biotic and biotic means..
B2-Know about the hard ecological conditions that affect insect populations.
C. Subject- Specific Skills: Students is expected to
C1- Apply the most environmentally save pest control .
C2- Explain the underlying physical and chemical aspects which can affect insect dispersal
C3- Understanding ecological factors that can be managed to optimize pests control.
C4-Applicable for solving problems associated with crops pests.
D. Transferable Key Skills: Students is expected to
D1-Gain basic ecological technologies to predict insects distribution and abundance
D2-Reduce crop losses by incorporating ecological technologies, as controlling the light and temperature.
D3-Know the plant morphological and chemical characteristics that affect insects movements.
ILOs: Learning and Evaluation Methods
ILO/s
Learning Methods
Evaluation Methods
A. Knowledge
and
Understanding
(A1-A6)
B. Intellectual
Analytical and
Cognitive
Skills (B1-B2)
C. Subject
Specific Skills
(C1-C4)
D.
Transferable
Key Skills
(D1-D3)
Lectures and Discussions
Exam, Quiz,
Lectures and Discussions
Exam, Quiz,
Lectures and Discussions
Exam, Quiz,
Solving problems, Analyzing
data
Project & presentation
evaluation .
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Course Contents
No. of
lecture (s)
/Week
4
(l st - 2nd
wk)
Subject
Sources
Introduction to Ecology
Chapter
1
in A1, A2, A3, A5,
(Speight, et al., 1999) B1
(Sharaf, N. S. 2012)






4
(3rd -4th
wk)

(Morris and Fulton 1970)
(Sharaf, N. S. 2012)
Global climate change
A6, C1
(Bradshaw and
Holzapfel 2001)
A6, D1
First Exam will be .
19/11/2013
A5, D1
Escape in space: Migration
(Denno et al. 1991,
Zera and Denno
1997)
D2
(Schoonhoven et al.
2005) Ch 6-7
C2,D3
(Nice and Fordyce
2006)
Insect performance and temperature
Thermoregulation and insects
Biochemical, physiological, behavioral,
morphological mechanisms involved
Thermoregulation consequences on
individual insects to populations and
communities
Escape in time: Dormancy







5
(12th 14hwk)
Temperature
Biogeographic patterns: Arctic insects
Developmental rate
Day-degree modeling
Survival and Species interactions
Population dynamics
A4, A5, B2
(Heinrich 2003),
•
9th wk
4
(10th -11th
wk)
(Parmesan, 2006)
Tolerance
•
•
•
6
(7th&9th
wk)
Terminology
Environmental Conditions
(Temperature, moisture, wind)






4
(5th -6th
wk)
Definition
Foundations
Origins
Ecology as a science
Methods for analyzing distributions
ILOs
Predictive vs. consequential dormancy
Diapause vs. quiescence
Obligatory vs. facultative diapause
Escape in space (dispersal) vs. escape in
time (dormancy)
How diapause is regulated
Timing of life stages in field crickets in
relation to environmental gradients
(latitude, elevation)
Importance of diapause in ecology,
evolution, pest management





Measuring migratory movements
Migration and other forms of movements
Movement in context of life histories
Physiological controls
Polymorphism in migratory capacity



Host selection
Foraging movements
Comparison b/t optimal and actual diets
 Migration in pest outbreaks
Foraging
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


Insects perception of the environment at
scales of habitat, patch and food item
Behavioral and numerical responses of
consumers to food density
Population dynamics
 Searching behavior and biological control
Second Exam will be in
th
14 wk
1 (15th wk)
Biological invasions


4
(15th -16th
wk)
importance of invasions




22/12/2013
(Hastings et al. 2005)
(Suarez et al 2005)
A5,D3
(Schoonhoven et al.
2005) Ch 5
C2, D3
Assess the current status and future
prospects for a predictive theory of
invasions
Feeding

(Morris and Kareiva 1991)
The evolutionary hurdles to feeding and
living on seed plants?
Insects and nutrition?
Optimal growth and reproduction?
Basis for the claim that plants supply food
that is of marginal quality?
Webworm case study
Learning Methodology
The course will be structured in lectures, discussions, theoretical and practical exercises. The course
comprises overviews, from general understanding to expert knowledge on key topics, and learning is based
on lectures as well as independent learning through exercises.
Evaluation
Point %
Date
First exam
20%
19/11/2013
Second exam
20%
22/12/2013
Quizzes
10%
At the end of each topic
Final Exam
50%
Will be announce from register .
Main Reference/s:
Sharaf, N. S. 2012. Insect Ecology: Individuals, Populations, Communities and Ecosystems.
Jordan University Publications. Amman. P 611.
References:
Bradshaw, W. E., and C. M. Holzapfel. 2001. Genetic shift in photoperiodic response correlated
with global warming. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United
States of America 98:14509-14511.
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Caswell, H. 2001. Matrix population models: Construction, Analysis, and Interpretation, Second
edition. Sinauer, Sunderland, Massachusetts, USA.
Denno, R. F., M. S. McClure, and J. R. Ott. 1995. Interspecific interactions in phytophagous
insects: Competition reexamined and resurrected. Annual Review of Entomology 40:297331.
Denno, R. F., M. A. Peterson, C. Gratton, J. A. Cheng, G. A. Langellotto, A. F. Huberty, and D.
L. Finke. 2000. Feeding-induced changes in plant quality mediate interspecific
competition between sap-feeding herbivores. Ecology 81:1814-1827.
Denno, R. F., G. K. Roderick, K. L. Olmstead, and H. G. Doebel. 1991. Density related migration
in planthoppers (Homoptera: Delphacidae): The role of habitat persistence. American
Naturalist 138:1513-1541.
Dwyer, G., J. Firestone, and T. E. Stevens. 2005. Should models of disease dynamics in
herbivorous insects include the effects of variability in host-plant foliage quality?
American Naturalist 165:16-31.
Gotelli, N. J. 2001. A Primer of Ecology.265.
Hassell, M. P. 2000. The spatial and temporal dynamics of host-parasitoid interactions. Oxford,
New York, New York, USA.
Hastings, A., K. Cuddington, K. F. Davies, C. J. Dugaw, S. Elmendorf, A. Freestone, S. Harrison,
M. Holland, J. Lambrinos, U. Malvadkar, B. A. Melbourne, K. Moore, C. Taylor, and D.
Thomson. 2005. The spatial spread of invasions: new developments in theory and
evidence. Ecology Letters 8:91-101.
Heinrich, B. 2003. Thermoregulation. Pages 1119-1126 in V. H. Resh and R. T. Carde, editors.
Encylopedia of Insects. Academic Press, San Francisco, California, USA.
Hoffmann, J. H., and V. C. Moran. 1998. The population dynamics of an introduced tree,
Sesbania punicea, in South Africa, in response to long-term damage caused by different
combinations of three species of biological control agents. Oecologia 114:343-348.
Luck, R. F. 1990. Evaluation of natural enemies for biological control: a behavioral approach.
Trends in Ecology and Evolution 5:196-199.
Nathan, R., and R. Casagrandi. 2004. A simple mechanistic model of seed dispersal, predation
and plant establishment: Janzen-Connell and beyond. Journal of Ecology 92:733-746.
Parmesan, C. 2006. Ecological and Evolutionary Responses to Recent Climate Change. Annual
Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics 37:637-669.
Pierce, N. E., M. F. Braby, A. Heath, D. J. Lohman, J. Mathew, D. B. Rand, and M. A. Travassos.
2002. The ecology and evolution of ant association in the Lycaenidae (Lepidoptera).
Annual Review of Entomology 47:733-771.
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Root, R. B., and N. Cappuccino. 1992. Patterns in population change and the organization of the
insect community associated with goldenrod. Ecological Monographs 62:393-420.
Rose, K. E., S. M. Louda, and M. Rees. 2005. Demographic and evolutionary impacts of native
and invasive insect herbivores on Cirsium canescens. Ecology 86:453-465.
Samways, M. J. 2007. Insect Conservation: A Synthetic Management Approach. Annual Review
of Entomology 52:465-487.
Schoonhoven, L. M., J. J. A. v. Loon, and M. Dicke. 2005. Insect-Plant Biology, 2nd edition.
Oxford, New York, New York, USA.
Sharaf, N. S. 2012. Insect Ecology: Individuals, Populations, Communities and Ecosystems.
Jordan University Publications. Amman. P 611.
Snyder, W. E., and A. R. Ives. 2001. Generalist predators disrupt biological control by a specialist
parasitoid. Ecology 82:705-716.
Suarez, A. V., D. A. Holway, and P. S. Ward. 2005. The role of opportunity in the unintentional
introduction of nonnative ants. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the
United States of America 102:17032-17035.
Vet, L. E. M. 2001. Parasitoid searching efficiency links behaviour to population processes.
Applied Entomology and Zoology 36:399-408.
Waage, J. K., and N. J. Mills. 1992. Biological control. Pages 412-430 in M. J. Crawley, editor.
Natural enemies: the population biology of predators, parasites and diseases. Blackwell
Scientific, Oxford, England.
Zera, A. J., and R. F. Denno. 1997. Physiology and ecology of dispersal polymorphism in insects.
Annual Review of Entomology 42:207-230.
Intended Grading Scale (Optional)
From (%)
0
45
48
55
61
64
67
73
76
79
85
88
To (%)
44
47
54
60
63
66
72
75
78
84
87
100
Scale
0
0.75
1
1.5
1.75
2
2.5
2.75
3
3.5
3.75
4
Mark
H
DD
D+
CC
C+
BB
B+
A¯
A
Result
Fail
Fail
Accepted
Accepted
Good
Good
Good
Very Good
Very Good
Very Good
Excellent
Excellent
Notes:


Concerns or complaints should be expressed in the first instance to the module lecturer; if no resolution is forthcoming, then the issue should be
brought to the attention of the module coordinator (for multiple sections) who will take the concerns to the module representative meeting.
Thereafter, problems are dealt with by the Department Chair and if still unresolved the Dean and then ultimately the Vice President. For final
complaints, there will be a committee to review grading the final exam.
For more details on University regulations please visit: http://www.ju.edu.jo/rules/index.htm
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