This course will look at the various mechanisms of evolution, how these mechanisms work, and how change is measured. The course will begin by reviewing the evolutionary concepts of selection and speciation. The student will then learn to measure evolutionary change and look at the history of life according to the fossil record and a discussion of the broad range of life forms as they are currently classified. Upon completion of this course, students will be able to: define evolution and describe different types of selection; provide examples of microevolutionary forces and describe how they impact the genetics of populations; describe the Hardy-Weinberg principle and solve problems related to Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium; provide examples of games used in evolutionary game theory; connect biological phenomena to game theory; develop simple phylogenies from molecular or morphological data; identify important evolutionary events that have occurred throughout geologic time; characterize and provide examples of major plant and animal phyla. (Biology 312)

This is a course developed for students who are going to do evolution for the first time. Therefore, they should have working knowledge of the chromosome theory and the nature of meiosis with particular reference to recombination and its advantages in the process of reproduction. They should also be conversant with the principles and concepts of Mendelian and post Mendelian genetics to be able to describe such terms as genotype, phenotype and variation. This will require them to know that a gene is the unit of heredity and that it is located on the Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) molecule. They should understand the structure and role of DNA, as the universal molecule that specifies the amino acid sequence of proteins in cells of organisms. This knowledge should be of an elementary type as described in Advanced Level Biology textbooks.

This lab course supplements ĺÎĺĺĺŤIntroduction to Evolutionary Biology and EcologyĄ_ĺĺö. Although it does not replicate a true lab experience, it does encourage greater familiarity with scientific thinking and techniques, and will enable exploration of some key principles of evolutionary biology and ecology. This lab supplement focuses on visual understanding, application, and practical use of knowledge. In each unit, the student will work through tutorials related to important scientific concepts and then will be asked to think creatively about how that knowledge can be put to practical or experimental use. Upon successful completion of this lab supplement, the student will be able to: Display an understanding of Mendelian inheritance as applied to organisms in virtual experiments; Describe the process of natural selection and understand how it will alter populations over generations and under a variety of selection pressures; Understand how the process of speciation is affected by isolation and selection pressures; Understand predator-prey dynamics under a variety of ecological conditions; Distinguish between biomes in terms of their structure/climates as well as the types and diversity of organisms that inhabit them. (Biology 102 Laboratory)

iBioSeminars (http://www.ibioseminars.org) is a collection of over 80 biology seminars given by the world’s leading researchers. The seminars range in topics from chemical and molecular biology to ecology and evolution. The lectures are typically 90 minutes and are divided into several, stand-alone parts. The first part of the talk is an extended introduction to the field and is suitable for students and non-experts, while the other parts are more detailed research lectures. Currently the speaker list includes 6 Nobel Laureates and 47 National Academy of Sciences members.