EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY
Biology 258       - -       Winter, 2007     - -     Bates College
Prof. Eli C. Minkoff, Ph.D.

TEXT: Futuyma, Douglas. EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY. Sunderland MA: Sinauer Associates.

C L A S S   S C H E D U L E   and   R E A D I N G   A S S I G N M E N T S

DATES: TOPICS AND READING ASSIGNMENTS:
Jan. 9 (E1,2,3) Introduction, overview, science, living systems. (Ch. 1). Ancient thought from Thales to Lucretius.
Jan. 11 (E3,4)

HISTORY OF EVOLUTIONARY THEORIES:
Biological classicism, scala naturae (Ch. 2); French environmentalism; German Naturphilosophie.
Jan. 16 (E5,6)
Natural Theology. Early geology. Charles Lyell.
Jan. 18 (E7) Charles Darwin: youth, education, Beagle voyage, events of 1858.
Jan. 23 (E8, 26)
Darwinism: Origin of Species; lineages, descent, classification & phylogeny (Ch. 5).
Jan. 25 (E35)

THE FOSSIL RECORD AND THE HISTORY OF LIFE ON EARTH:
Origin of life. Endosymbiosis. (Ch. 7)
Jan. 30 (E36)
Animal evolution. Vertebrates.
Feb. 1 (E27,28)
Opportunism and other lessons from the fossil record. Horses (Ch. 6).
Feb. 6 (E12) FIRST EXAMINATION
Feb. 8 (E9,10)

GENETICS AND MICROEVOLUTION (small scale explanations):
Mendel and the birth of genetics. (Ch. 3). Cells; Sutton & chromosomes.
Feb. 13 (E11,13) Mutations and the era of conflict; modern synthesis. Origins of hereditary variation. (Ch. 10).
Feb. 15 (E14,15) Genetic variation: equilibrium & departures from equilibrium. (Ch. 9).
Population structure & drift; genetic systems (Ch. 11, 21).
Feb. 17-25
HAVE A NICE WINTER VACATION
Feb. 27 (E17,18) Natural selection: adaptation. (Ch. 12). Single gene traits. (Ch. 13).
Mar. 1 (E19)
Natural selection: quantitative traits. (Ch. 14).
Mar. 6 (E20)
Natural selection: persistence of variability.
Mar. 8 (E21,22) Species: Geographic variation, clines, hybrids. Species definitions. (Ch. 15).
Mar. 13 (E23,24)
Allopatric speciation. (Ch. 16). Alternative modes of speciation.
Mar. 15 (E25) SECOND EXAMINATION
Mar. 20 (E30)

CHARACTER EVOLUTION & MACROEVOLUTION (large scale):
Form, function, and phylogeny. (Ch. 17). Life histories & development. (Chs. 19, 23).
Mar. 22 (E16,32) Ecology; r & K. (Chs. 4, 18).   Biogeography. (Ch. 8).
Mar. 27 (E33,34) Behavior and evolution. Sociobiology. (Ch. 20).
Mar. 29 (E29-31)
Molecular evolution. (Ch. 22). Evolutionary patterns and processes. (Ch. 24).   Diversity and extinction. (Ch. 25).
Apr. 3 (E37,38) Human evolution. Cultural evolution & the future. (Ch. 26).
Apr. 5 (E39) Confronting creationism. (Appendix 2).


ADDITIONAL COURSE MATTERS: