BIOL4000/5000 Comparative Animal Physiology  Spring 2009

 Tentative outline

1.      Introduction: What is comparative physiology and why it is important

 2.      Basic principles of comparative physiology

2.1.          Adaptation, acclimation and acclimatization

2.2.          Homeostasis and homeorrhesis

2.3.          Fundamental mechanisms of adaptation

2.4.          Evolutionary constraints and using phylogenies in comparative physiology

2.5.          Size and scale: Allometric relationships in physiology
 

3.      Metabolism and Energy Supply

3.1.          Aerobic and anaerobic metabolism and its intermediaries.

3.2.          Evolution of metabolism

3.3.          Energy budgets

3.4.          Metabolic effects of body temperature and body size

3.5.          Metabolic control and regulation

3.6.          Metabolic aspects of environmental adaptation

 4.      Respiration and Circulation

4.1.   Principles of gas exchange

4.2.   Morphofunctional evolution of ventilatory and circulatory systems

4.3.   Respiratory control and regulation

4.4.   Adaptations to hypoxia and anoxia
 

 5.      Water-Ion Balance and Osmoregulation

5.1.          Aqueous solutions and osmosis; mechanisms of water and ion movements

5.2.          Cell volume and its regulation

5.3.          Water and ion exchange surfaces and organs

5.4.          Energetics of water and ion regulation

5.5.          Hormonal and nervous control of water and ion regulation

5.6.          Environmental adaptations of osmo- and ion-regulatory systems
 

6.      Control and integration

6.1.   Introduction in integration and control systems: evolution and implications for morphological complexity

6.2.   Hormonal control as an earliest control system. Evolutionary aspects of endocrine systems

6.3.   Evolution and adaptation of sensory systems. Physiological and evolutionary diversity of sensors. Morphofunctional evolution of nervous systems in animals