Building the Tree of Life

4.0 credits

The course explores the history and diversity of life on Earth, with an emphasis on statistical and computational approaches that leverage genetic, fossil, and phenotypic data to reconstruct the deep evolutionary past. Students will gain hands-on experience using these tools to test evolutionary hypotheses related to adaptation, convergent evolution, and diversification of species. Topics include systematics and the tree of life, evolutionary innovations throughout Earth’s history, phylogenetic reconstruction, speciation and extinction, and phylogenetic comparative methods. Prior programming experience is recommended but not required.