Course Description
Evolutionary ecology examines how abiotic and biotic conditions shape evolutionary dynamics. This class will explore fundamental concepts and techniques in microevolution, macroevolution, and community ecology. We will examine general themes across terrestrial, aquatic, and marine ecosystems to highlight interactions of evolutionary and ecological processes while covering applications to global change biology.
Athena Title
Evolutionary Ecology
Non-Traditional Format
Students doing research projects during this course will meet with the instructor outside of class in addition to the lecture for further supervision and instruction. The research project is intended to be both major and publishable.
Prerequisite
Permission of department
Semester Course Offered
Offered spring
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
Students will be able to: 1. Discuss and evaluate fundamental theory relating to microevolution (agents and targets of selection, quantitative genetics, life history theory, population dynamics), macroevolution (phylogenetics, diversity, speciation, and coevolution), and community ecology (evolutionary consequences of biotic interactions). 2. Evaluate how ecological processes influence micro- and macroevolutionary dynamics, and patterns of species and genetic diversity across space and time. 3. Assess and discuss cutting-edge research in evolutionary ecology. 4. Dissect publications from the primary literature to evaluate the conceptual background and assess the extent to which the results substantiate the conclusions and inferences presented. 5. Analyze data from these publications in R and other statistical and bioinformatic platforms to learn foundational and emerging approaches for approaching eco-evolutionary datasets, especially given the statistical challenges of data generated from field studies, such as non-normally distributed fitness data. Contrast results from in-class data analysis exercises with published results. 6. Formulate effective hypotheses and testable predictions for eco-evolutionary research questions.
Topical Outline
Week 1: Introduction to Evolutionary ecology, and how to read a scientific paper Week 2: Diversity: From genes to species Week 3: Quantitative Genetics: Dissecting the components of phenotypic variation (VP=VA+ VD+ VI+ VE+ VGxE) Week 4: Quantitative Genetics: Natural selection, from definition to estimating selection in nature, including discussions of the definition of fitness; agents, and targets of selection Week 5: Quantitative Genetics: Local adaptation and phenotypic plasticity Week 6: Life History Theory: Fitness trade-offs Week 7: Population Genetics: Inbreeding, genetic drift, selection Week 8: Macroevolution: Measurement of diversity: From population genetics to ecological measurements Week 9: Macroevolution: Phylogenetics Week 10: Macroevolution: Speciation Week 11: Landscape genomics Week 12: Coevolution and species interactions Week 13: Conservation genomics Week 14: Evolutionary and genetic/genomic responses to global change Week 15: Project presentations
Syllabus
Public CV