Students
requiring accommodations as a result of a disability must contact the Centre
for Students with Disabilities (778-782-3112 or csdo@sfu.ca).
BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES 300
EVOLUTION
Summer 2007
| Instructors: B.Chuchman / E.Barley | Office: B8261 |
| Phone: 778-782-4462 | Email: ebarley@sfu.ca/ bchuchma@sfu.ca |
Prerequisite: BISC 202 (C- or better) and BISC 204 recommended.
Description: Evolutionary biology addresses fundamental questions about our world. What are the origins of living things? Why are there so many different organisms? What shapes their form and behaviour? To shed light on these questions we will explore processes that lead to evolutionary change and how these processes can provide an explanation for the incredible patterns we observe in nature.
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INTRODUCTION TO THE PHENOMENON
The evidence for evolution
Natural Selection
Phylogenetics
MECHANISMS OF CHANGE
Selection, mutation, migration
and genetic drift
Mendelian genetics
Evolution of Sex
Quantitative genetics
ADAPTATION (The fit between
organism and environment)
Evolutionary analysis
Sexual Selection
Kin Selection
Evolution and human health
HISTORY OF LIFE (How we got
here from there)
Speciation and Extinction
The origin and diversity of
life
Development and Evolution
Origin and evolution of modern
humans
Text: Freeman S and J.C. Herron. Evolutionary Analysis. Fourth Edition
Distrbution of marks: TBA