Evolutionary Processes

0 or 4 Credits · Level: Undergraduate

The study of evolution unifies all aspects of biology. This is possible because evolution seeks to explain the diversity of life as an array of processes that produce biological change, variation and diversity. This broad introduction to evolutionary biology will bring to life the forces that cause evolutionary change from populations to species over time scales of hours to epochs. Emphasis will be placed on understanding processes that create patterns in biological systems including the genetic basis of evolution, Darwinian selection, random change, molecular evolution, speciation and phylogenetics. The course includes a weekly recitation section to discuss classic literature and a phylogeny construction laboratory exercise. This course fulfills the "Populations" distribution requirement for Biology majors and serves as an approved course towards a concentration in Ecology, Evolution and Behavioral Biology; it is required for Environmental Biology majors. It was previously numbered BIOL-251.