Evolutionary Genetics
Evolution is one of the central, unifying theories of biology and the principles of evolutionary/population genetics are highly relevant to marine ecology and fisheries science. However, marine ecologists seldom receive training in evolutionary genetics. The aim of this course is to make the field of evolutionary genetics relevant and accessible to the student of marine ecology by providing broad knowledge in the field of evolutionary genetics and developing an "evolutionary" way of thinking about marine ecology and fisheries science.
This course will cover the following topics: Introduction to Evolutionary Theory and Population Genetics, Genetic structure of population, Dispersal/Gene flow, Molecular markers, Genetic data analysis, Speciation/hybridization, Historical demography, Effective population size, Ecological Genomics, Fisheries induced evolution, and Conservation genetics.
On successful completion of the course:
Knowledge
The student should have knowledge and understanding of:
- the central and unifying role of Evolution in biology
- the principles of population genetics and basic population genetics models
- the use of molecular data and their analysis and the latest technological development in genomics
- the role of the different evolutionary forces in shaping the population structure of marine species
- the role humans as agent of selections, in particular the role of fisheries induced evolution for exploited marine species
Skills
The student should be able to
- use population genetics / evolutionary models in the larger framework of marine biological sciences
- analyze and interpret population genetics and phylogenetics data
- gather the appropriate molecular data
General Competence
The student should be able to:
- understand and use the terminology of evolutionary biology
- understand and analyze textual material from wide ranges of sources
- formulate questions clearly, evaluate evidence critically, and integrate ideas and concepts
- communicate about technical issues, analysis and conclusion in evolutionary genetics
Composite assessment, grading rule Letter grades.
- Oral examination - presentation, accounts for 20/100 of the grade, grading rule Letter grades.
- Written school exam, 4 hours, accounts for 80/100 of the grade, grading rule Letter grades.
BI214F Molecular Ecology
BI216F Evolutionary Behavioural Ecology
