In the first year of the 2-year M.Phil programme, some core and *elective courses are taken by students registered under the programme. The second year is devoted to research, thesis writing, at least one manuscript preparation and submission of thesis. After submission, an oral examination is organized for them.
| Course Code | Course Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
|
ENTO 601
|
Systematics
|
3
|
|
ENTO 603
|
Functional Morphology of Insects
|
3
|
|
ENTO 604
|
Insecticide Science
|
3
|
|
ENTO 605
|
Insect Physiology and Biochemistry
|
3
|
|
ENTO 607
|
Insect Ecology
|
3
|
|
ENTO 609
|
Research Methods & Project Management
|
3
|
|
ENTO 610
|
Seminar I
|
3
|
|
ENTO 612
|
Integrated Pest and Vector Management
|
3
|
|
CROP 692
|
Statistics for Biologists/Biometry
|
3
|
|
ENTO 620
|
Seminar II
|
3
|
| Course Code | Course Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
|
ENTO 602
|
Agricultural Pests
|
3
|
|
ENTO 606
|
Disease Vectors of Medical and Veterinary Importance
|
3
|
|
ENTO 608
|
Stored Products Entomology
|
3
|
|
ENTO 611
|
Agricultural Production Systems & Sustainable Rural Livelihoods
|
3
|
|
ENTO 622
|
Applied Insect Taxonomy
|
3
|
|
BCHM 604
|
Principles & Applications of Biotechnology
|
3
|
| Course Code | Course Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
|
ENTO 600
|
Thesis
|
30
|
Taxonomy, Classification, International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, Concept of Species and their application, Speciation, Taxonomic Hierarchy and Higher Systematics. Identification of major insect orders, Phylogenetics, sources of published taxonomic data. Taxonomic characters and techniques: Cytogenetics, Morphometrics, use of Identification keys, Collection and Curation of insects.
The concept of pest, development of pest situations and when to control pests; survey of pests of crops, including important non-insect pests such as mite, nematodes, birds and rodents; Critical review of the biology, ecology, damage and management of major pests of selected important crops emphasizing on the use of the Integrated Production and Pest Management approach from the following: Vegetables and spices, cereals, legumes, plantains, root & tuber crops, fruit and plantation/industrial crops, beverage crops, ratoon crops; Study of pests of major economic importance in Africa: migrant pests (e.g. locusts, grasshoppers armyworms, quelea birds etc.) The course links up for inputs from scientists and Visiting lecturers from International and National Research Institutions.
Basic organization and evolution of the insect head and mouthparts; functioning of mouthparts of selected insects. Modifications of the insect neck and thorax including adaptations of legs. The insect wing; Major modifications of spiracles and tracheae; Appendages and processes of the abdomen, including full treatment of genitalia. Stridulation, Morphological modification of alimentary, respiratory, reproductive and nervous systems in insects, Embryonic and post-embryonic development.
a. Insecticide application Introduction to pesticide application – ground application, types of sprayers and nozzles, calibration and use of spray equipment in pesticide application, safety aspects of application, maintenance of equipment.
b. Toxicology. Pesticides and pest control, General principles of toxicology and aspects of insect physiology related to toxicology. Development evaluation and consumption of insecticides. Types of Insecticides formulation and modes of action. Effects of insecticides on non-target organisms. Insecticide resistance and its management. Biochemical modes of action of insecticides and insect growth regulators; Toxicodynamics and selective toxicities of insecticides; metabolism of insecticides and its relation to resistance; environmental problems of insecticide use; insecticide residue determination and analysis- basic knowledge of residue isolation and analytical procedures.
A system approach to the major functional categories of insect life: feeding, gas exchange, homeostasis, locomotion, reproduction, development, communication and their interrelations. The alimentary and circulatory systems; integument, respiratory and excretory systems; the sensory, nervous, muscular, endocrine and exocrine systems. The reproductive system and development; unusual modes of reproduction and other adaptive processes that enhance the success of insects. Introduction to structure and function of biomolecules: peptides and proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, nucleotides; enzymes – properties and classification. General introduction to metabolism: production of energy from carbohydrates, lipids and amino acids; Coenzyme and cofactors. Energy utilization for biosynthesis, light generation and flight: insect flight – flight muscle ultra-structure, mobilization and transport of fuels to flight muscle. Insect hormones and regulation: structure, modes of action and biochemical activities – adipokinetic and hypertrehalosemic hormones in energy metabolism; ecdysone, ecdysiotropic hormone, bursicon and juvenile hormones in moulting process and sclerotization; pheromones.
Arthropod vectors of diseases; taxonomy, biology, and incrimination of vector capacity, ecology of vectors, Epidemiology of vector-borne diseases, Parasites transmitted by insect vectors, lifecycle, and symptomatology of diseases; animal reservoirs, Vector control methods as applied to blackfly, tsetsefly, mosquitoes, ticks and mites. Emerging disease vectors of medical and veterinary importance.
a. Terrestrial
Practical and theoretical aspects of ecology, Properties of populations; methods of estimating
population size and population dispersion, Sampling techniques, Measurement and description of factors regulating populations, Construction and analysis of life tables and their application, Biotic associations and community structure, Intra-and interspecific competition, prey-predator, and host-parasite relationships as applied to pest management. Social systems and behaviour in insects, Forests and savannah insects; seasonal phenomena in tropical insects; pest migrations, Impact of pesticides on the environment and community, Ecological foundations of the analysis of biological control, Population modelling and systems analysis.
b. Aquatic
Insects in lotic, lentic and astatic systems: their identification, classification and biology, Insect activity patterns, Role of insects in aquatic ecosystems.
Human population growth and the global food problem, the post-harvest system: nature and
components. The concept of stored products; the stored products environment; factors that affect the stored products environment and their role, Damage and food loss in the post-harvest systems; types and causes of loss; the role of causal agents, Loss assessment methods, Origin of stored products pests, Survey of stored product pests, Biology of major stored product insect pests, Review of storage systems of the tropics, Control of stored product insect pests, Modern trends in pest control in the post-harvest system.
Modern scientific techniques in research initiation; conduction, analysis and write-up. The use of computers in Literature searches, data collection and analysis, and write-up. Rapid methods of reviewing the literature and scientific writing. Other techniques such as insect rearing, photography slide preparation and other forms of presentation. Introduction to general Management Aspects of organizational behaviour (Interpersonal skills, work motivation, teamwork), leadership skills, ethics and social responsibilities. Proposal writing and fund management; Project information management, Project evaluation and impact assessment; Strategic project management.
The course is in three parts, namely, livestock production systems, crop production systems and the use of participatory approaches in disseminating agricultural technologies to farmers to achieve farmers’ objectives. The environmental and human health impacts of the production systems are discussed. This is meant to help students make informed decisions that promote sustainable livestock and crop production to improve the livelihoods of rural farmers. The rationale of this course is to introduce students of insect science to the various agricultural production systems for them to appreciate how the choice of a production system can have an impact on the health of crops and livestock as well as the environment.
Formulation of pest problems, economic assessment of losses due to pests and vectors, Decision making to control pests. Evolution and development of IPM. Ecological basis of pest and vector management. Pest forecasting, transgenic plants (GMOs) and Quarantine regulations. Multidisciplinary approach, integration of multiple strategies, knowledge and intensive information, systems approach, risk minimization (safety, profitability, and durability), linking agriculture with environment, biodiversity, human health and sustainability, sophisticated higher technologies and low conventional technologies, useful environment as education tool for extension workers, farmers and general public. Policy framework; pest diagnostic and monitoring tools/techniques and services; Biotechnology and biopesticides; Precision agriculture technology and GIS; biological pest management; Information, communication and education; farmer empowerment through IPPM, International initiatives in IPM. Economic significance of agricultural production systems, Environmental and human health impact of production systems, environmental management.
Topics include probability theory and distributions; Population parameters and their sample estimates; descriptive statistics for central tendency and dispersion; hypothesis testing and confidence intervals for means, variances, and proportion; and the chi-square statistic; and nonparametric methods. The course will provide students a foundation to evaluate information critically to support research objectives and product claims and a better understanding of statistical design of experimental trials for biological products/devices.
In the first semester of year 1, students are expected to attend all seminars specified and are to
make their own presentations on selected topics to an audience to earn credits. Each student is
expected to make at least one oral presentation to be assessed each semester and then present a full write-up of the presentation for another assessment.
In the second semester of the first year, each student will be required to make a Thesis Research Proposal presentation and write-up for assessment.
There will be an oral examination based on the thesis submitted for the award of the MPhil Entomology degree.