Nähere Informationne zum Kurs finden sie unter folgender URL: http://www.bcp.fu-berlin.de/studium-lehre/Termine_bcp_sl/evolutionary_biology_1718.html close

Bryophytes, lichens and fungi, colloquially often called " cryptogams " but actually representing unrelated kingdoms (plants and fungi), play an important role in tropical ecosystems. As epiphytes and biological soil crusts, bryophytes and lichens participate in the water and nutrient cycle and facilitate plant growth and the development of animal populations. As saprotrophs, parasites, and symbionts, fungi act as decomposers, control population sizes of plants and animals, and besides lichens form unique mutualistic relationships such as mycorrhizas or ant gardens. Cryptogams, particularly lichens, are also widely used as bioindicators of environmental health. The course will include theoretical lectures, practical work based on herbarium specimens (from the BGBM) and new material (from Colombia); and group work presented in the form of a seminar. The basis of the course is an evolutionary framework of the three main groups (bryophytes, lichens, fungi), which helps to assess their biology in the light of natural relationships. Course topics include basic biology and features of each group; evolution based on molecular evidence, including advanced methods such as molecular clock approaches and comparison with paleogeography and paleoecology in tropical regions; global biodiversity assessments, systematics, classification, and species concepts; and ecological and economical importance and uses by humans of tropical cryptogams. close

Shaw & Goffinet: Bryophyte Biology. Cambridge University Press, 2009. Nash: Lichen Biology, Second Edition. Cambridge University Press, 2008. Piepenbring: Introduction to Mycology in the Tropics. American Phytopathological Society, 2015. Gradstein et al.: Guide to the bryophytes of tropical America. New York: New York Botanical Garden Press, 2001. close