BIOS 569 EEB GRADUATE CORE COURSE

9:25 – 10:40 am

Tuesday & Thursday

Anderson Bio Lab Room 133

(aka EEB conference room)

Goals:

1) Ensure that students have a common foundation in ecology and evolutionary biology

2) Teach fundamental concepts and unanswered questions in EEB to stimulate broad thinking about dissertation research topics

3) Introduce current research approaches to expand awareness of tools available for research in EEB

Structure:

Fall semester (28 lectures)

Grading Policy:

Each module activity will be graded by the associated instructor (67%). Class participation including discussions (33%).

Syllabus:

Date	Topic	Instructor
29 August	Introduction PPT - intro to the department - review of the MS/ PhD requirements	Siemann
31 August	Ecological Genetics Module	Whitney
5 September	Ecological Genetics Module	Whitney
7 September	Ecological Genetics Module	Whitney
12 September	Evolution Module 1	Meffert
14 September	Evolution Module 1	Meffert
19 September	Evolution Module 1	Meffert
21 September	Evolution Module 2	Kohn
26 September	Evolution Module 2	Kohn
28 September	Evolution Module 2	Kohn
3 October	Evolution Module 3	Queller
5 October	Evolution Module 3	Queller
10 October	Evolution Module 3	Queller
12 October	Evolution – wrap up/discussion/catch-up
19 October	Ecology Module 1	Emery / Rudgers
24 October	Ecology Module 1	Emery / Rudgers
26 October	Ecology Module 2	Siemann
31 October	Ecology Module 2	Siemann
2 November	Ecology Module 2	Siemann
7 November	Ecology Module 2	Siemann
9 November	Evolution Module 4	Danielson-Francois
14 November	Evolution Module 4	Danielson-Francois
16 November	Ecology Module 3	Rudgers / Emery
21 November	Thanksgiving, no class
23 November	Ecology Module 3	Rudgers
28 November	Ecology Module 3	Rudgers
30 November	Ecology Module 3	Rudgers
5 December	Ecology Module 4	Siemann
7 December	Ecology – wrap up/discussion/catch-up

MODULE DESCRIPTIONS

Ecological Genetics Module (3 lectures)

- Selection in natural populations

- Phenotypic plasticity

- QTL mapping

Project: Phenotypic selection analysis and path analysis using SAS

Evolution Module 1 (3 lectures)

Quantitative genetics and mechanisms of speciation with a focus on issues in conservation biology

-heritability

-breeding designs

-multivariate analyses

Project: basic programming skills in SAS for multivariate analyses (Interactive Matrix Language package) and bootstrap statistics

Evolution Module 2 (3 lectures)

Evolutionary Genomics

-conceptual and technical foundations

-anatomy of the genome

-analysis of polymorphism and divergence

Project: (possibilities) Data mining using ENSEMBL, Basic sequence manipulation using CLUSTAL, Analysis of polymorphism and divergence using SITES.

Evolution Module 3 (3 lectures)

Behavior & Social Evolution

- kin selection, group selection, reciprocal altruism

- introduction to ESS models

Project: Relatedness and Kinship programs?? Essay??

Evolution Module 4 (2 lectures)

Phylogenetic Biology

-current phylogenetic theory and methods of tree construction (distance vs. character-based)

-phylogenetic comparative methods??

Project: Problem set and analysis of molecular data using computer programs and bootstrapping techniques.

MODULE DESCRIPTIONS

Ecology Module 1 (2 lectures)

Population Dynamics I: Demography and Matrix Population Models

-deterministic vs. stochastic modeling approaches

- construction, analysis, and interpretation

Project: Matrix-based population modeling using MATLAB

Ecology Module 2 (4 lectures)

Population Dynamics II: Models and empirical tests

- One-species population models

- Pairwise interactions: competition, predation, mutualism, parasitism/disease/herbivory

Project: Modeling the dynamics of species interactions in POPULUS

Ecology Module 3 (4 lectures)

Community Ecology

- metrics for describing community structure

- assessing temporal and spatial changes in community structure and community assembly

- biotic and abiotic influences on community structure

- interaction webs (trophic & otherwise)

- community phylogenetics?

Project: Understanding community structure using nonlinear multidimensional scaling analyses (NMS) and real data sets (Program: PCORD)

Ecology Module 4 (1 lecture)

Ecosystem Ecology

-global carbon and nutrient cycles

-diversity/ecosystem functioning relationships

(No project)