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The course will lead the students through various biological aspects of the vertebrate life. We will focus on various
aspects, structures, and behaviors that are common to all vertebrates, but have different specifics and peculiarities in each major group. At the beginning of the course, we will define what is and what is not a vertebrate, illustrate their phylogenetic position in the tree of life and characterize their main morphological and developmental features. Subsequently, lectures will be dedicated to the evolution of the brain, neural system and senses. The next set of lectures will aim at ecological adaptations of the different groups of vertebrates to the environment they inhabit, to their feeding biology and specializations, locomotory adaptations to different habitat types, biogeographic patterns in vertebrate distributions and their history, and the macroevolutionary and macroecological (large scale) trends. No other courses must be absolved prior to this one. The course is primarily designed for MSc students of the zoologically oriented study programs (both in Czech and English), including students visiting through the ERASMUS and other inter-university exchange programs. The course will be taught and the materials provided in English. Poslední úprava: Peterková Jindřiška, Ing. (11.04.2025)
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Gaisler, Zima (2007). Zoologie obratlovců. Academia
Linzey (2020). Vertebrate Biology: Systematics, Taxonomy, Natural History, and Conservation. Johns Hopkins University Press.
Prothero (2022). Vertebrate Evolution : From Origins to Dinosaurs and Beyond. CRC Press.
Pough et al. (2022). Vertebrate Life. Oxford University Press Inc. Poslední úprava: Peterková Jindřiška, Ing. (11.04.2025)
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Oral examination. The exam will cover selected topics covered by the lectures. The students will be evaluated based on their overall orientation in the problematics, not on the level of English. Written exam would be enabled upon justified request. Poslední úprava: Peterková Jindřiška, Ing. (11.04.2025)
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1. Phylogeny and evolutionary history of vertebrates. Recapitulation of the tree of life; the phylogenetic position of chordates and vertebrates; the age of origin of vertebrates and their major clades; fossil versus molecular age estimates; the fossil record of pre-vertebrates and early vertebrates (J. Šmíd)
2. Anatomy and morphology of vertebrates and their closest relatives; body plan characterization; neural crest and the development of head, body segmentation and its genetic regulation (Hox and Pax genes); notochord to vertebrate column transition; skull and body skeleton; body integument and the development of teeth (V. Soukup)
3. Developmental biology. Anamnia versus Amniota (water-dependent and water independent egg development and extraembryonic structures); the placenta of mammals; oviparity and viviparity; external versus internal fertilization and what dominates in the different vertebrate clades; embryonic diapause; intrauterine cannibalism (V. Soukup)
4. Reproduction biology and ethology. Egg deposition; parental care and its types; courtship behaviors; nesting and nest types; alternative strategies (satellite males, nesting parasitism; social systems; reproductive migration (seasonal, anadromous, catadromous) (R. Lučan)
5. Evolution of the brain. Embryonic origin of the nervous system; brain differentiation and cerebral vesicles; cranial nerves in anamniotes and amniotes; hemisphere development and gyrification; neuron numbers and function; brain size and different ways to it (P. Němec)
6. Senses. Orientation in the environment; sensory neurons and external receptors and organs; chemo- and mechanoreceptors; olfactory system; taste buds; photoreceptor cells and vision (mono- to polychromacy); auditory system; lateral line in aquatic vertebrates; electroreception in teleost fishes; thermal vision in snakes and vampires; echolocation of bats and cetaceans (P. Němec)
7. Feeding biology and ecology. Prey types across vertebrates and associated adaptations; herbivory, carnivory, omnivory, alternative specializations (frugivory, nectarivory, scavenging, parasitism); morphological and physiological adaptations accompanying different feeding strategies (mouth parts - teeth, beaks, tongue, jaw muscles; internal organs - stomach and gut compartmentalization in ruminants, gut length); intestinal microbiome (I. Schneiderová)
8. Locomotion. Locomotory adaptations to different environments (aquatic, terrestrial, subterranean, fossorial, aerial); skeletal and muscular differences in body posture of reptiles versus mammals and dinosaurs; different paths to the same end - lateral versus horizontal undulation in aquatic vertebrates, parallel evolution of flight in birds, bats, and pterosaurs; gliding; evolution of limblessness in amphibians and reptiles; frog leaping; bipedal and quadrupedal locomotion (R. Lučan)
9. Environmental adaptations. Life in different biotic realms; adaptations to life in extreme climates from polar regions through arid deserts to deep seas (hibernation, aestivation, migration, morphological adaptations); environmental space utilization across biomes (subterranean, fossorial, terrestrial, arboreal); independent and repetitive colonization of various environments - parallelism and evolution of convergent adaptations (I. Schneiderová)
10. Biogeography. Historical and contemporary trends in species distributions; zoogeographical division of the world; continental drift; island biogeography and phenomena and examples (gigantism, nanism, flightlessness); biodiversity gradients and ecogeographical rules (Bergmann, Allen, Gloger, Rapoport...) (J. Šmíd)
11. Macroevolutionary trends. Mass extinctions in the history of vertebrates and their effect on global diversity, why some groups went extinct while others survived; dominant groups in different historical periods; ecological replacement; key innovations that triggered adaptive radiations (e.g., echolocation in mammals, leglessness in squamate reptiles, anatomy of dinosaurs), secondary colonizations of aquatic environments; evolution of morphological and genomic complexity (Cope’s rule) (J. Šmíd) Poslední úprava: Peterková Jindřiška, Ing. (11.04.2025)
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Students understand the evolutionary position of vertebrates within the tree of life and are able to characterize their key morphological, developmental, and phylogenetic features. They can explain the evolution of major vertebrate organ systems, particularly the nervous system, sensory systems, and locomotory apparatus, and compare their specific adaptations across major vertebrate lineages. Furthermore, they are able to understand key features of vertebrate anatomy, behavior, and ecology, including reproductive strategies, feeding biology, and environmental adaptations. They can interpret biogeographic and macroevolutionary patterns in vertebrate diversity, explain the role of historical processes such as continental drift and mass extinctions, and discuss the importance of key innovations and convergent evolution. Overall, the students of this course are capable of synthetic and integrative thinking about vertebrate biology in a broad evolutionary and ecological context, applicable to further academic study and professional discussion. Poslední úprava: Šmíd Jiří, Mgr., Ph.D. (14.01.2026)
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