acessibilidade

Início do conteúdo da página

Master’s and Doctoral Degree in Entomology and Biodiversity Conservation


DESCRIPTION OF THE COURSE

 
The Graduate Program on Entomology and Biodiversity Conservation aims at developing professionals who are able to work with the several themes involving entomology, but with a strong specific characteristic: the ability to work with issues regarding biodiversity conservation, giving special attention to those themes that integrate biodiversity conservation and agricultural development.

LINES OF RESEARCH:

● Taxonomy, Systematics and Biogeography of Insects:
● Ecology and Behavior of Insects:
● Agroecological Entomology
 
 
 SYLLABUS
Collection, preparation and preservation of insects
Insects: basic characteristics and main Orders; Habitats and habits: where to look for insects; Active collecting and used materials; Passive collecting: types of traps and their use; Conservation of insects: dry and wet environments; Insect pinning techniques; Labeling; Preservation and organization of collections; packaging and shipping entomological materials; Types of collections; Basic notions of taxonomy.
 
 
Scientific method and the elaboration of projects on entomology
Research about knowledge, particularly science. Analysis of the technical and methodological procedures of preparation, execution and presentation of the scientific research. Study about the forms of elaborating the academic work, especially regarding technical rules.
Insect morphology and physiology
 Evolution of the Arthropod; Introduction to insect morphology; Insect mouthparts: basic structures and variations/adaptations in different groups; Thorax: basic structures, thoracic sclerites, appendices and their variations in different groups; Abdomen: morphology and associated structures; Immature insects: morphological and physiological variations; Flight and feeding mechanisms; Receptors; Metamorphosis. Structure, formation and function of the systems: tegmental, respiratory, circulatory, digestive, neuromuscular, excretory, reproductive and endocrine systems.
Systematics and evolution of insects
Systematics and Biodiversity of Insects; Difference between Systematics and Taxonomy; Evolution of the Anthropod Phylum, the Panhexapoda Superclass the Phylogeny of the largest insect groups; Phylogeny of the Subclasses Monocondylia and Dicondylia; Zoological Nomenclature applied to Entomology; Ancestry and Descendants of the Insect Orders: synapomorphies, homoplasies, symplesiomorphies and the Character Reversals; Preparation of didactic and scientific entomological collections; Identification of Orders, Suborders, Superfamilies and Families of Insects; Use of dichotomous and pictorial keys for insect identification; Methods for specific identification of insects; About the 10 most economically important Orders of insects.
Seminars on entomology I
Training graduates on the elaboration, presentation and discussion about relevant themes regarding academic education, including experiences of attending qualifying exams and thesis and dissertation defense of PPGECB, besides relevant lectures in the field of entomological research.
Seminars on entomology II
Training graduates on the elaboration, presentation and discussion about relevant themes regarding academic education, including experiences of attending qualifying exams and thesis and dissertation defense of PPGECB, participation in examination boards for undergraduate final papers and lectures in the field of entomology.
Teaching Internship I
Ativities directly related to undergraduate teaching practice. They include lecturing and preparing theoretical and practical classes, advising students, always under the supervision of an advisor professor or a tutor appointed by him/her.
Teaching Internship II
Ativities directly related to undergraduate teaching practice. They include lecturing and preparing theoretical and practical classes, advising students, always under the supervision of an advisor professor or a tutor appointed by him/her.
Mandatory curricular activity
Thesis / Dissertation
Elective Disciplines
Insect sampling and monitoring
Basic concepts of sampling; classification of the population density; methods for measuring poulation density in agroecosystems and natural ecosystems; spatial distribution of insects; sequence sampling for classification; ecological sampling in genetically modified cultivations; evaluation of the use of sampling plans; binomial counting; time sampling to classify or estimate the growth curve of a population.
Multivariate analysis in entomology
This discipline deals with techniques of multivariate analysis that basically focus on (mainly indirectly) ordinations of objects (samples) based on their attributes (independent variables). At the end of the discipline, graduates shall be able to interpret the multivariate analysis that have been used in published papers in the different fields of biology and environmental sciences (mainly the ecology of communities) and, from the simulation of data, decide which type of analysis they will use in their own work.
Apiculture: production, conservation and sustainability
Morphology and biology of the honeybee (Apis mellifera); Installation, management and development of apiaries; Bee products (polination in agriculture, honey, wax, propolis, royal jelly and poison); Preparation of bee products for the market; Honeybee pathologies, natural enemies of bees and the problem of the use of pesticides; Polination as an element of sustainability and environmental conservation; Bee flora, its use and importance for environmental conservation and restoration; Strategies for an increase in productivity (genetic improvement, management of hives and areas of restoration); Brazilian apiculture – evolution and modernity in relation to the international market; Some recipes using bee products.
Biodiversity, ecology and conservation of the entomofauna
Processes which generate biological diversity. The diversity of the entomofauna through the geologic periods. Patterns of diversity and subjacent processes. Loss of biodiversity. Biodiversity hotspots. Hyperdiverse rate. Extinction and endemism. Strategies for the conservation of biodiversity. Discussion about scientific papers.
Biostatistics
Definition of science and culture. The importance of experimental design in the development of science. Scientific hypothesis and Popper’s philosophy. Construction of null models, independant observations, pseudo-repetitions and inferential statistics. Introduction to linear, non-linear and multivariate models.
Historic Biogeography
Allow students to have access to the spatial dimension of evolution, to the historical factors that have affected the distribution of live beings in space, to the patterns of distribution that have been found, and to the processes of explaining those patterns. Different currents of thought will be discussed in order to try to understand the interpretations about geographic distributions, and also the methods used to: 1. Represent and recognize the areas of distribution of particular taxons; 2. Represent and recognize the areas of endemism, patterns of distribution and methods of biogeographic regionalization; 3. Choice between the probable generating processes that have led to the found patterns, in order to explain them; and 5. Hypothesis formulated from the supposition about certain processes and their consequences.  This discipline will approach biogeographic analysis which focus on the areas and on taxons of interest. It will also focus on the importance (indispensability) of the phylogenetic knowledge associated to the taxons and of the geographic knowledge associated to the areas, not as alternatives, but as hypothesis that are partially or necessarily complementary.
 
Biology of insects
Study embryology, the post-embryonic development and the determination of sex in insects; Types of reproduction in insects; Types of metamorphosis; Study about the biology of insects in the Orders: Thysanura (ametabolous); Odonata, Ephemeroptera (hemimetabolous); Hemiptera, Orthoptera, Blattodea (paurometabolous), Coleoptera, Lepidoptera, Diptera, Hymenoptera (holometabolous) in order to observe their biological cycle and to accompany the types of metamorphosis; Observe the instars and phases, the intraspecific polymorphism, the behavior of castes and the organization of social insects (Isoptera and Hymenoptera); Study the biological aspects of insects, such as: 1. Bioluminescence, 2. Cryptobiosis, 3. Cyclomorphosis, 4. Types of Diapause, 5. Hypermetabolism, 6. Mimetism, 7. Neoteny/Paedogenesis, 8. Polyembryony, 9.  Polymorphism (castes of social insects), 10. Thanatosis, 11. Trophallaxis and 12. Symbionts and their role in Insect Physiology and Development.
Biological control in integrated management
Basic concepts and fundamentals about biological control. History of biological control in Brazil and in the world. Biology of predators and parasitoids. Relationship: predator/prey, parasitoid/host and entomophagous/entomopathogens. Biological cycle and the mode of action of entomopathogens. Pest Integrated Management – PIM in economically expressive cultivations.
Microbial control of insects
Study about the insect microbial control agents (entomopathogens); identification; strategies for the use of entomopathogens in Pest Integrated Management; collection, isolation, coloration and examination of entomopathogenic microorganisms.
Ecology of insects
Introduction to basic concepts. Bioecological adaptations and adaptive irradiation of insects. Importance and effects of insects in the ecosystem. Factors that affect reproduction, growth and the dispersion of insects. Introduction to the study about insect populations and communities. Functional Groups and Guilds. Introduction to the analysis in ecology: case studies. Ecological interactions. Field work: seminars/reports.
Field Entomology
Scientific investigation, planning and experimental desing in the field. Sampling methods and data analysis. Practice in scientific, oral and written communication.
Medical and veterinary entomology
Importance of insects to the system and to the human being; Biodiversity and evolution; Parasite-host coevolution, concepts of vector, epidemiology of disease transmission. Bioecology; Classification of the arthropods of medical and veterinary importance – troublesome, venomous and carrier; Diseases and conditions associated with arthropods. Sampling, identification (keys), mains insect groups of medical and veterinary importance; venomous and poisonous arthropods. Control and management of insects and arthropods; Entomological monitoring and vigilance of other arthropods; Environmental prevention and education.
Insects as bioindicators
Concepts involving bioindicators; insects as bioindicators; biomonitoring systems; Elaboration of projects involving bioindicators; Evaluation of environmental impacts; Case studies with emphasis on insects; global, regional and local strategies using bioindicators.
Social insects
The origins and the evolution of insect sociability = Altruism as key; The concept of superorganismo; Group selection; Kin selection; Parental manipulation; Genic selection / Degree of Sociability = Solitary; Subsocial; Communal; Quasisocial; Semisocial; Primitive and evolved eusocial / Social bees, Social wasps, Ants and Termites; Difference between castes, division of work and communication.
Insect-plant interaction
Coevolutionary interactions between insects and plants. Specific coevolution. Diffuse coevolution. Forms of Herbivory. Reproduction of plants / food for the insect. Plant protection / food and shelter for the insect.
Management of forest insects
Concept, importance and history of forest entomology. Forest environment and conservation. Vivarium insects. Root feeding insects. Trunk insects. Branch insects. Leave insects. Seed insects. Wood product insect. Integrated management of insects in forest cultivations.
Molecular methods in entomology
Introduction to Molecular Biology: molecular markers and their classes. Molecular techniques, sequencing, microarray, advantages and disadvantages, analysis of the data obtained by markers in the determination of genetic variability. Evolution genetic analysis based on polymorphism of PCR-amplified DNA fragments and segments and its applicability in taxonomy. Estimative of genetic similarity and distance. Application of molecular markers in biodiversity studies: conservation of species. Insect DNA barcoding.
Alternative methods for pest control
Alternative technologies to the use of synthetic chemical pesticides in pest control. The role of biodiversity in pest management. Economic, social and ecological advantages of alternative pest control regarding the main cultivations of economic interest. Scientific legal and professional basis of the use of alternative products for sustainable pest control.
Advanced topics in molecular biology
Molecular cloning; expression of recombinant proteins; culture of cells and tissue; RNA interference; genic therapy; application of molecular biology techniques in the identification of vector insects and in the diagnosis of diseases caused by microorganisms and viroses; transgenic animals; current themes in molecular biology.
 
 
Parasitoid-host interactions
Introduction to the hymenoptera parasitoids. Taxonomic identification of the main families of hymenoptera parasitoids. Study of the main biological characteristics: parasitism, duration of the life cycle (egg-adult), emergency, progenies, sexual signals, longevity of adults. Intra and interspecific interactions. Parasitoid-host relationships. Life table analysis. Thermal and hydric requirements. Techniques for mass multiplication of parasitoids in laboratory, collection and liberation in the field.
Special topics I
This discipline is taught by visiting professors and researchers or by professors from UFGD. Varying content which shall include themes which are important to the general education of graduates and which are not studied in regular disciplines of the program.
Special topics II
This discipline is taught by visiting professors and researchers or by professors from UFGD. Varying content which shall include themes which are important to the general education of graduates and which are not studied in regular disciplines of the program.
Special topics III
This discipline is taught by visiting professors and researchers or by professors from UFGD. Varying content which shall include themes which are important to the general education of graduates and which are not studied in regular disciplines of the program.
 
 


Fim do conteúdo da página