Evolutionary Biology Spring 2013
EEB 2245
Evolutionary Biology
Meeting Time: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9:30-10:45 in TLS154
Textbook: Futuyma, D.J. 2009. Evolution. 2nd ed. Sinauer Associates, Inc. (ISBN 978-0-87893-223-8)
Contents
Instructors
First half of the course, 22 January - 7 March
Dr. Charles Henry
Office: TLS 479/481
Phone: 486-4450
E-mail: charles.henry@uconn.edu
Office hours: By arrangement
Second half of the course, 12 March - 2 May
Dr. Chris Simon
Office: BioPharm 305D
Phone: 486-4640
Email: chris.simon@uconn.edu
Office hours: By arrangement
Teaching Assistants
Geert Goemans
Office: BioPharm 323
Phone: 486-3947
Email: geert.goemans@uconn.edu
Students A-K
Office hours: By arrangement
Brigette Zacharczenko
Office: TLS 471
Phone: 486-5503
Email: brigette.zacharczenko@uconn.edu
Students L-Z
Office hours: By arrangement
Grading
EEB 2245: Your grade will be based on your performance in 4 lecture exams and a 1-hour final exam (cumulative). Your lowest score on the 4 lecture exams will be dropped. Your 3 remaining scores and your score on the final exam will each constitute one quarter of your final grade. University regulations require that students who miss the final exam without an excuse from the Dean of Students receive an F for that exam. Thus, you are required to take the final exam.
Note: because you are allowed to drop your lowest score, we will not give make-up exams.
EEB 2245W: Your final grade in the lecture portion of the course will be calculated as above. If you are taking the W version of the course, that grade will constitute 75% of your final course grade. Your grade in the W part of the course, as determined by your “W” instructor, will constitute the remaining 25% of your final course grade, except that an F in the W part of the course will result in an F for the entire course. An F in the lecture part of the course will also result in an F for the entire course. Refer to the 2245W website for further information. Dr. Kristiina Hurme (TLS 379A; tel: 486-5434; kristiina.hurme@uconn.edu) is the coordinator of the W part of the course.
Announcements
31 January 2013: Note that we have posted the revised version of the course syllabus on the web site, reflecting changes that have already been recorded in the web version of the syllabus (below).
4 February 2013: A study guide for the first lecture exam has been posted. The link to the guide can be found in the on-line syllabus, below. If we modify this study guide between now and February 14th, I will post an announcement here and the new version of the study guide will replace the old one at the same link.
Course Resources
Review Sessions
Updated 29 January 2013 -- There will be two review sessions for the first exam on Thursday, February 14th. They will be:
Monday, February 11th, 6-8PM in BioPhysics Building Rm 130 (students L-Z, Brigette Z.)
and
Tuesday, Feburary 12th, 6-8PM in BioPhysics Building Rm 131 (students A-K, Geert G.).
Review sessions are structured to answer any questions you might have encountered while studying or going over the example exam. Please come to the review session with specific questions. If you can not attend either review session but have questions pertaining to the course material prior to the exam please contact your assigned TA to set up a time to meet.
Evolution in the News
Lecture Syllabus (syllabus)
Please read assigned chapters, as indicated below, prior to class
Class | Day | Date | Topic | Text Readings |
---|---|---|---|---|
Part I | Jan 22 - Mar 7 | Processes of Evolution | Dr. Charles Henry | |
1 | T | Jan 22 | Populations, variation, & the Hardy-Weinberg principle | Ch. 1 (pgs 7-11), 9, & 13 |
2 | Th | Jan 24 | Agents of evolutionary change: Mutation and gene flow (migration) | Ch. 9 |
3 | T | Jan 29 | Sampling error: genetic drift and the bottleneck/founder effects | Ch. 10 |
4 | Th | Jan 31 | Charles Darwin and natural selection, part 1 | Ch. 1 & 11 |
5 | T | Feb 5 | Natural selection, part 2 | Ch. 11, 12, & 13 |
6 | Th | Feb 7 | Adaptation and life-history evolution, part 1 | Ch. 13 & 14 |
M | Feb 11 | Review Session for Exam 1 6-8 PM |
BioPhysics Building Rm 130 | |
7 | T | Feb 12 | Life history evolution, part 2 | Ch. 14 |
T | Feb 12 | Review Session for Exam 1 6-8 PM |
BioPhysics Building Rm 131 | |
14 | Th | Feb 14 | EXAM #1 You may bring a calculator (NO iphone/smartphone) </span>|| Covers Lectures 1-6 | |
9 | T | Feb 19 | Sexual selection | Ch. 15 |
10 | Th | Feb 21 | Levels of selection | Ch. 16 |
11 | T | Feb 26 | Species and species concepts | Ch. 17 & 18 |
12 | Th | Feb 28 | Ecotypes, clines, and allopatric speciation | Ch. 17 & 18 |
M | Mar 4 | Review Session for Exam 2 6-8 PM |
BioPhysics Building Rm 130 | |
13 | T | Mar 5 | Speciation and adaptive radiation; class evaluations | Ch. 18 & 22 |
T | Mar 5 | Review Session for Exam 2 6-8 PM |
BioPhysics Building Rm 131 | |
14 | Th | Mar 7 | EXAM #2 Example of Exam 2 (from 2012) Study Guide for Exam 2 |
Covers Lectures 7-12 |
Part II | Mar 12 - May 2 | Patterns of Evolution | Dr. Chris Simon | |
15 | T | Mar 12 | Systematics: Tree-thinking, phylogeny, polymorphism, & homoplasy | Ch. 2 & 3 |
16 | Th | Mar 14 | Parallelism and reversals; molecular & morphological methods | Ch. 2 & 3 |
T | Mar 19 | SPRING BREAK - no class | ||
Th | Mar 21 | SPRING BREAK - no class | ||
17 | T | Mar 26 | Reconstructing trees from morphology; how molecules evolve | Ch. 2 & 3 |
18 | Th | Mar 28 | Molecular evolution and molecular clocks | Ch. 2 & 3 |
19 | T | Apr 2 | Overview of the Tree of Life; animal evolutionary innovations | IntroBio textbook |
20 | Th | Apr 4 | Evolutionary novelties: Body plans, constraints, gene regulation | Ch. 21 & 22 |
M | Apr 8 | Review Session for Exam 3 6-8 PM |
BioPhysics Building Rm 131 | |
21 | T | Apr 9 | Homeobox genes, ontogeny & phylogeny, allometry, & fossils | Ch. 4; 21 & 22 |
T | Apr 9 | Review Session for Exam 3 6-8 PM |
BioPhysics Building Rm 131 | |
22 | Th | Apr 11 | EXAM #3 Study Guide for Exam 3 Tree Exercises for Exam 3 (with answers) |
Covers Lectures 13-18 |
23 | T | Apr 16 | The Paleozoic: Origin of invertebrates, vertebrates, & land plants | Ch. 4 & 5; p 168-71 |
24 | Th | Apr 18 | Mesozoic I: Pangea, Laurasia, Gondwanaland; reptiles & birds | Ch. 4, 5, & 6 |
25 | T | Apr 23 | Mesozoic II: Insects & angiosperms, K-T extinction; Cenozoic I | Ch. 17 |
26 | Th | Apr 25 | Cenozoic II: Continental drift & dispersal; primates and humans | Ch. 17 |
M | Apr 29 | Review Session for Exam 4 6-8 PM |
BioPhysics Building Rm 131 | |
27 | T | Apr 30 | Biogeography and Biodiversity; class evaluations | Ch. 17 |
T | Apr 30 | Review Session for Exam 4 6-8 PM |
BioPhysics Building Rm 131 | |
28 | Th | May 2 | EXAM #4 Example of Exam 4 (from 2012) Study Guide for Exam 4 |
Covers Lectures 19-24 |
Th | May 9 | FINAL EXAM, 8-10 am (tentative time & date) | TLS 154; cumulative |