BIOEE 4640

Macroevolution

Course Description

Course information provided by the Courses of Study 2015-2016.

Advanced course in evolutionary biology centered on large-scale features of evolution. Areas of emphasis include phylogeny reconstruction, patterns and processes of speciation, the origin of evolutionary novelty, causes of major evolutionary transitions, and patterns of diversification and extinction in the fossil record. Discussion of these problems involves data and approaches from genetics, morphology, systematics, paleobiology, development, and ecology.

When Offered Spring.

Permission Note Enrollment limited to: 35 students. Intended for juniors, seniors, and beginning graduate students; freshmen and sophomores with permission of instructor.
Prerequisites/Corequisites Prerequisite: BIOEE 1780 or permission of instructor.

Distribution Category (PBS)

Comments Interested graduate students strongly encouraged to preregister.

• Students will understand how morphological and molecular data are used to reconstruct the history of life.
• Students will be able to use their understanding of phylogenetic trees to analyze the evolution of characteristics of all kinds.
• Students will be able to think critically about the relative roles of natural selection, speciation, and extinction in determining the large scale patterns of biotic evolution over geological time.
• Students will augment their understanding of evolution by natural selection with an appreciation for the role of developmental processes in generating evolutionary novelties and forming the basis for major transitions of evolution.
• Students will write synthetically about factors affecting the generation of variation as well as the effects of differential birth and death processes at multiple levels in the biological hierarchy.

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