Description: This course will examine the mechanisms of evolutionary change, with an emphasis on the ecological, genetic, and evolutionary principles needed to understand the diversification of life on earth.  Major topics will include adaptation, molecular evolution and macroevolution, and the ecology of natural populations.

Learning goals: The overall goals of this course are that you will 1) develop an understanding of how evolutionary change occurs in populations, 2) learn how ecology and evolution exert an influence on one another, 3) learn how evolution creates biodiversity, 4) learn how to interpret experiments that demonstrate evolutionary and ecological principles and 5) use your acquired knowledge to be an informed citizen.

Specifically, at the end of this course you will be able to:

·      Understand how the interactions of organisms with their biotic and abiotic environments result in evolutionary change through natural selection

·      Understand the mechanisms by which evolution occurs and how these operate at both the level of the DNA and the organism

·      Understand the diversity of life including genetic variation across populations, mechanisms of speciation, evolutionary influences on development and human evolution

·      Understand why it has been said that ‘nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution’