Physiology of Aquatic Animals

Code:

MA224

Acronym:

FAA

Keywords
Classification	Keyword
OFICIAL	General and Aquatic Biology

Instance: 2011/2012 - 2S

Active?	Yes
Responsible unit:	Aquatic Production
Course/CS Responsible:	Aquatic Sciences

Cycles of Study/Courses

Acronym	No. of Students	Study Plan	Curricular Years	Credits UCN	Credits ECTS	Contact hours	Total Time
LCMA	28	Plan 2007 to 2011	2	-	5	49	135

Teaching language

Portuguese

Objectives

Establish the physiological background useful for the culture of aquatic animals and for the conservation and management of aquatic living resources.

Program

The course of Physiology of Aquatic Animals aims to provide the knowledge on the physiological processes basic for the three aquatic groups: fish, crustacean and molluscs. Contents on growth and metabolism, osmotic and ionic regulation, acid-basic regulation, nitrogen excretion, endocrinology and reproduction will be discussed.
It is also studied in those processes the mechanisms operating in aquatic organisms at all levels which allow the adaptation to the constraints of the environment.
In addition life cycle and migrations of anadromous fish (in particular salmonids) and catadromous fish (in particular eels) are also presented.

Mandatory literature

varios; Artigos cientificos de revisao, varios. ISBN: varios
Evans David; The Physiology of fishes, David H. Evans, 1998. ISBN: 0-8493-8427-3
Randall David; Burggren Warren; French Kathleen; Animal Physiology, W. H. Freeman and Company, 2002. ISBN: 0-7167-3863-5

Teaching methods and learning activities

The majority of of the theoretical course is given in classroom lectures, but the small class size usually allows a more interactive lecture with higher student participation.
The practical course consists on: laboratory practices using physiological studies from molecular to whole organisms and observing/participating in active resarch on aquatic animals as determination of molting phases in crustaceans, identification of the phases in the reproductive cycle of molluscs and evaluation of fish age.
Some practical lessons are substituted by scientific articles discussion

keywords

Natural sciences

Evaluation Type

Distributed evaluation with final exam

Assessment Components

Description	Type	Time (hours)	Weight (%)	End date
Attendance (estimated)	Participação presencial	50,00
	Exame	2,00
	Total:	-	0,00

Amount of time allocated to each course unit

Description	Type	Time (hours)	End date
	Estudo autónomo	83
	Total:	83,00

Calculation formula of final grade

Written assessment examination and occasionally an oral examination can be done.