SubjectsSubjects(version: 978)
Course, academic year 2025/2026
   
Crustacean biology and diversity - MB160P06
Title: Crustacean biology and diversity
Czech title: Biologie a diverzita korýšů
Guaranteed by: Department of Ecology (31-162)
Faculty: Faculty of Science
Actual: from 2025
Semester: summer
E-Credits: 3
Examination process: summer s.:
Hours per week, examination: summer s.:2/0, Ex [HT]
Capacity: unlimited
Min. number of students: 5
4EU+: no
Virtual mobility / capacity: no
State of the course: taught
Language: English
Level: specialized
Note: enabled for web enrollment
the course is taught as cyclical
Guarantor: RNDr. Veronika Sacherová, Ph.D.
Teacher(s): prof. RNDr. Adam Petrusek, Ph.D.
RNDr. Veronika Sacherová, Ph.D.
Annotation -
Crustacean Biology lecture covers all crustacean groups: freshwater, marine and terestrial. General introduction includes phylogeny, morphology, feeding, ecology, reproduction and life cycles, behaviour and genetics of Crustacea. Later, each group will be discussed in more details with a focus on characteristics of a group, main representatives, their bionomics and significance.

This lecture is taught every other year, next will be in 2021/22. In case of low number of students it will be taught in blocks or recorded lectures.
Last update: Sacherová Veronika, RNDr., Ph.D. (20.05.2020)
Literature -

1. Schram, F.R. 1986. Crustacea. Oxford University Press.

2. Brusca, R.C. and G.J. Brusca, 2003. Invertebrates. 2nd ed. Sinauer Associates, Inc., Publishers. 936 pp.

3. Thorp, J.H. and A.P. Covich, 2001. Ecology and classification of North American freshwater invertebrates. 2nd ed. Academic Press. 1056 pp.

Last update: Sacherová Veronika, RNDr., Ph.D. (24.10.2019)
Requirements to the exam -

Written test.

Last update: Sacherová Veronika, RNDr., Ph.D. (24.10.2019)
Syllabus -

1. phylogeny of the group, its relation to other taxa, fossil records ; external morphology, specialised features, homologies and convergence; specific anatomy and physiology; feeding ecology, food composition, adaptations; reproduction, sexual dimorphism, ontogenesis, larval stages, life cycle etc.

2. Remipedia

3. Cephalocarida

4. Branchiopoda

5. Maxillopoda

6. Malacostraca

Last update: VSACH (23.03.2005)
Learning outcomes -
  • defines the phylogenetic position of crustaceans within the arthropod phylum and interprets their evolutionary development supported by the fossil record.

  • describes and compares the external morphology and internal anatomy of individual crustacean groups and explains the principles of homology and convergence in specialized traits.

  • analyzes the feeding ecology of crustaceans and identifies morphological and physiological adaptations related to their methods of food acquisition.

  • explains the mechanisms of reproduction and sexual dimorphism and distinguishes between different types of ontogenetic development and larval stages.

  • characterizes the main taxonomic groups (Remipedia, Cephalocarida, Branchiopoda, Maxillopoda, and Malacostraca) and states their specific bionomic traits.

  • identifies key representatives of freshwater, marine, and terrestrial crustaceans and explains their ecological requirements and position within the ecosystem.

  • evaluates the ethological behaviors of crustaceans (sensory perception, social behavior) and their adaptations to specific living conditions.

  • discusses the economic and ecological significance of crustaceans (e.g., in food chains, invasive species, bioindication) and assesses the impact of environmental changes on their populations.

  • utilizes technical terminology to describe physiological processes (e.g., molting/ecdysis, osmoregulation) specific to the Crustacea group.

  • compares the evolutionary strategies of individual crustacean classes and infers the relationship between their body structure and their inhabited environment.

Last update: Sacherová Veronika, RNDr., Ph.D. (23.01.2026)
 
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