Difference between revisions of "EEB 2245/2245W Announcements (Spring 2010)"

Revision as of 21:37, 22 March 2009

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March 22

Summary slides are available for 3/17-3/19 speciation lectures Summary Slides

February 28

The study guide for exam 2 is now available. Study guide for exam #2

An answer key to problem set 3 is now available. Answer Key

February 27

Summary slides are available for phenotypic plasticity and sexual selection. Summary Slides

February 24

Review sessions scheduled: We've scheduled two review sessions before Exam 2. Both will be held in TLS 154 (the big lecture room in Torrey Life Sciences).

Thursday, February 26: 6:00pm - 7:30pm Wednesday, March 4: 6:00pm - 7:30pm

February 23

Summary slides for natural selection and quantitative genetics are now available. Summary Slides

Also, a natural selection and quantitative genetics problem set is now available. Problem Set 3

February 17

The answer key to Exam #1 has now been posted. Exam#1 answer key

February 6

The study guide for Exam #1 has now been posted. Study Guide for Exam #1

A brief outline from lectures on 2/03 and 2/05 is now available. [1]

The answer key to the first two problem sets is now available. Answer Key

February 5

The Economist (a newsmagazine from Great Britain) has a nice overview article on evolutionary biology. The first paragraph of the section entitled The origin of the Origin has a pretty good summary of the material we just covered.

The idea of evolution by natural selection is not hard to grasp. It just requires connecting some uncontentious propositions. These are that organisms vary from one another, even within a species, and that new variation can arise from time to time; that some of this variation is passed from parent to offspring; and that more individuals are born than can exist in the available space (or be sustained by the available resources). The consequence is what Darwin described in his book as a “struggle for existence”. The weakest are eliminated in this struggle. The fit survive. The survivors pass on their traits to their offspring. Over enough time, this differential transmission of characters will lead to the formation of a new species.

The last bit isn't quite right, as you'll see when Dr. Jockusch discusses speciation, but the differential transmission of characters will lead to the evolution of adaptations.

February 1

A brief outline from lectures on 1/27 and 1/29 is now available. [2]

January 30

Problem set #2 is now available.

January 27

Problem set #1 is now available.

Review sessions are scheduled for 6:00-7:30pm on Thursday, 29 January and Monday, 9 February in BPB 131 (not where we have our lectures, the lecture hall behind it).

Dr. Holsinger will be out of town from 7-11 February.

January 26

Darwin and Lincoln were both born 200 years ago on 12 February 1809. That joint birthday is part of the inspiration for Year of Science 2009, a year-long nationwide celebration of science intended to enhance public understanding and appreciation of science. More than 400 colleges, universities, professional societies, and other organizations are participating in the event.

http://www.clas.uconn.edu/yearofscience

The University of Connecticut was the first university to sign on to Year of Science 2009 (9 months before UC Berkeley, for example). There have been events happening since last fall, including the Darwin Bicentennial Symposium Kent Wells organized, but the official "kick off" event is scheduled for 8:00pm, Thursday, 12 February in the Jorgensen Auditorium, Daniel Bernard Roumain's newly commissioned piece Darwin's Meditations for the People of Lincoln

"DBR combines a rock-star persona with a musical approach that does for amplified violin what Jimi Hendrix did for electric guitar."—The Australian

It should be a very interesting and entertaining performance. Not only do Darwin and Lincoln share a birthday, but Darwin's maternal grandfather, Josiah Wedgewood, cast the abolitionist medal "Am I not a Man and a Brother" that his paternal grandfather, Erasmus Darwin, designed. In letters to Asa Gray, Darwin expressed his desire for a Union victory in the Civil War.

And Lincoln also had a strong connection to science. He established the National Academy of Sciences just a few months before the Battle of Gettysburg.

That's all a long way of saying that I think the DBR performance will be interesting and entertaining and that I hope to see many of you there. (Student tickets are only $7.)

January 25

A brief outline from lectures on 1/20 and 1/22 is now available. The outline contains the highlights of what we covered and a few notes about things you should know. [3]

January 20

The Dodd Center is sponsoring an exhibit, Charles Darwin (1809-1882): The Legacy of a Naturalist. The exhibit is curated by Kent Wells (Head of EEB), Melissa Watterworth, and Carolyn Mills. The exhibit runs until March 6th. We encourage you to stop by for a visit.

January 15

Science has also put together a special set of resources to celebrate the Darwin anniversaries. They are available at http://www.sciencemag.org/darwin/

January 8

Nature has put together a special set of resources to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Darwin's birth (12 February 1809). We will be drawing on some of these resources throughout the course. If you'd like to explore more of them, just visit http://www.nature.com/darwin.