| Unit name | Evolutionary Biology |
|---|---|
| Unit code | BIOL20212 |
| Credit points | 10 |
| Level of study | I/5 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1B (weeks 7 - 12) |
| Unit director | Professor. Jones |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
None. |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department | School of Biological Sciences |
| Faculty | Faculty of Life Sciences |
Understanding evolution by natural selection is central to all aspects of biology, and evolution is one of the key intellectual pursuits in science. This course will cover the origin of life, patterns in the history of life, and the evolution of biological diversity. We will describe studies from palaeontology, biogeography through to molecular genetics. Topics include: mutation, selection and adaptation, the origin of life, the evolution of eukaryotes, the evolution of sex, patterns in the history of life, population genetics, genome evolution, the nature of species, speciation, adaptive radiation, microevolution in action, phylogeny and classification, evolutionary biogeography, patterns in the evolution of biological diversity, evolution of the human condition and molecular approaches to understanding evolution. Coursework includes analysis of natural selection in the wild, and an essay on the origin of life.
Aim:
The aims of the unit are to ask interesting questions about evolution, to evaluate the evidence that evolution is a fact, and to read and critically evaluate papers from the primary literature about evolution.
You should be able to evaluate the evidence that evolution is a fact, and to read and critically evaluate papers from the primary literature about evolution.
Lectures, directed reading, research and/or problem-solving activities; practical exercises and independent study.
Coursework (40%) plus summative written assessment (60%) with one essay question to be selected from a choice of two.
Herron, J.C. & Freeman, S. (2015). Evolutionary Analysis. 5th Edition. Benjamin Cummings.
Zimmer, C. & Emlen, D.J. (2016). Evolution: making sense of life. MacMillan learning.
Many useful papers are published in Nature, Science, Trends in Ecology and Evolution, Systematic Biology and Evolution. These are all available online.
