Spring 2025

Evolutionary Biology

Listed in: Biology, as BIOL-320

Faculty

Jill S. Miller (Sections 01 and 01F)

Description

Evolution is a powerful and central theme that unifies the life sciences. In this course, emphasis is placed on microevolutionary mechanisms of change, and their connection to large-scale macroevolutionary patterns and diversity. Through lectures and readings from the primary literature, we will study genetic drift and gene flow, natural selection and adaptation, molecular evolution, speciation, the evolution of sex and sexual selection, life history evolution, and inference and interpretation of evolutionary relationships. Three hours of lecture and one hour of discussion each week.

Requisite: BIOL 181; BIOL 191 recommended. This course is designed as an overflow class for students who do not take BIOL 321 and the combined enrollment for these courses is 30 students. Not open to first-year students. Spring semester. Professor Miller

How to handle overenrollment: Preference given to biology majors and class year (seniors first, etc.).

Students who enroll in this course will likely encounter and be expected to engage in the following intellectual skills, modes of learning, and assessment: Students who enroll in this course will likely encounter and be expected to engage in the following intellectual skills, modes of learning, and assessment: written work, reading and discussion, group work, in-class quizzes or exams, quantitative work

Course Materials

Offerings

Other years: Offered in Spring 2023, Spring 2025