Class Web Page For 

Evolution 

PCB 4674

Fall 2003 Semester

MW 8 – 9:15AM

Class meets in room DM 100

Class Professor: Joel Trexler


Department of Biological Sciences

Florida International University

Miami, FL33199

Office: OE 247

Office phone: 305-348-1966

Email:trexlerj@fiu.edu

Class Notes (check for updates)

NOTE (August 14, 2003):  Welcome to Evolution class!  Below, I have posted links where you can download the text portions of my lecture notes.  You can also buy photocopies of the notes at the copy center in the Graham Center.  The photocopies include the figures I use to illustrate the lecture and are probably worth the cost relative to the files you can download.

NOTE (August 27, 2003):  I have placed a copy of the textbook on reserve in the library.  You can use it for up to two hours at a visit.

I will be initiating the Administrative Drop procedure today for those students who have enrolled without completing the pre-requesite classes in Genetics and Ecology.  I will permit students who have completed Genetics and who are currently in enrolled in Ecology to remain.  Please check your SASS report if you are in doubt about your enrollment status and feel free to call or email me if you have questions about this policy.

NOTE (September 14, 2003): I have postponed the date for test#1 by one class period from Sept 22 to Sept 24.  There will be a help session from 6:15 - 7:30 PM on Monday, Sept 22, in room CP 197.
 

NOTE (October 21, 2003): To keep the exams with the same spacing as originally intended (and because I am running about one lecture behind on the class syllabus) I have postponed the date for test#2 by one class period from Oct 22 to Oct 27.  There will be a help session from 8 - 9:15 AM on Thursday, Oct 23, in room CP 197.

NOTE (Dec 3, 2001):  There will be a help session to prepare for the final exam at 10AM, Saturday Dec 6, in the Wertheim Auditorium (WC-130).  This is in the same building as the glasshouse that is between the OE building and the new parking garage that is under construction.
 
 


Syllabus - Evolution PCB 4674
Fall 2003 Semester

Professor:  Joel Trexler   Class meets Mon & Weds 8:00-9:15
Office Hours:  Mon 2-5 & by appointment Classroom:  DM -100
Office phone:  305-348-1966     Office room number: OE 225  Email: trexlerj@fiu.edu

Textbook: Futuyma, D.J. 1998. Evolutionary Biology, 3rd Ed. Sinauer Assoc

Dates 
-----------------------------------Topics----------------------------------- 
 Reading (Chapters)

 
Aug 25, 27 Course introduction, Classification & Phylogeny  1-5
Sept 1  Labor Day – No Class 6
Sept 3 The Tree of Life   7-8
Sept 8, 10 The Tree of Life, History of Life  8
Sept 15, 17  History of Life  9
Sept 22  Exam #1 9-10
Sept 24  Organic Variation 10
Sept 29, Oct 1 Organic Variation 
Oct 6, 8 The Origins of Genetic Variation  11
Oct 13, 15  Population structure & genetic drift 12-14
Oct 20 Adaptation  13-14
Oct 22  Exam #2
Oct 27, 29   Adaptation   15-16
Nov 3, 5  Species and Species Formation  16, 17
Nov 10,12 Species and Species Formation, Biological Diversity 
Nov 11  Veteran’s Day Holiday, school closed (Tues… doesn’t affect us)
Nov 17, 19  The Evolution of Biological Diversity  17-19
Nov 24 Exam #3
Nov 26  Evolution of Mating Systems 20
Nov 27-29  Thanksgiving Holiday (Thurs – Fri…. Doesn’t affect us)
Dec 1, 3  Evolution of Genetic Systems  21
Dec  10  Final Exam 6:40AM -9:15


Grades: Grades will be determined as follows: 2 regular exams = 25% each, final exam = 35%, Short pop tests = 15%.  I will drop the lowest of your 3 regular exam grades to obtain the 2 regular exam scores.   Short tests will be administered in the first 10 minutes of lecture.  They will not be announced in advance.

Notes: There are no make up exams.  If you miss an exam for any reason, the one you miss will serve as your drop grade.  If for any reason you unable to reach me, leave a voice message on my office telephone with a number where I can reach you.  It is never necessary to call the professor’s home; doing so makes his wife and baby cranky, which is not good for either of us.


 

Download Documents

Syllabus (.pdf version)

Lectures Part 1

Lectures Part 2

Ages of the Earth Handout

Old Test - Exam 1

Extra study questions for Exam #2

Extra study questions for Exam #3

Download Computer Program Populus


Key to test #1 - Fall 2003

Chi-square Examples Handout (.pdf)

Chi-square Examples Handout (.doc)

Linkage Disequilibrium Figures (.pdf)

Key to test #2 - Fall 2003

Extinction Paper

Key to test #3 - Fall 2003

Useful references:

Textbook this term:  D. J. Futuyma. 1998. Evolutionary Biology, 3rd Ed. Sinauer, Sunderland, MA 

Other useful references:

Freeman, S., and J. C. Herron. 2001. Evolutionary Analysis, 2nd Ed. Prentice Hall.
Lincoln, R., G. Boxshall, and P. Clark. 1998. A Dictionary of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics, 2nd Ed. Cambridge Univ. Press.
King, R. C., and W. D. Stansfield. 1996. A Dictionary of Genetics, 5th Ed. Oxford Univ. Press

 

Some of Darwin's works are available online (complete texts)

        Voyage of the Beagle

        The Orgin of Species

        The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex
 

Epigenetics

The ultimate source of material for evolution is genetic mutation and recombination, which provide the blueprint for transmission of phenotypic traits from one generation to the next.  However, recent discoveries in a new field called epigenetics, the study of heritable changes in gene function that occur without a change in the DNA sequence, have provided an exciting new array of potentially important mechanisms that influence heredity.  Epigenetic processes include DNA methylation, histone acetylation, and RNA interference, and their effects in gene activation and inactivation.  The role of these processes in inheritance and evolution are exciting new areas of study, with important implications for biotechnology and cloning biology.  To learn more, click here to go to the Science Magazine link on epigenetics.

TEACHING LINKS

Here are some links from various other Evolution classes on the web that will help you with this class (it also helps you know you are not alone in the Universe... students across the country are doing the same thing you are)

FSU:  How to answer essay questions by Joseph Travis

UCSC: Macroevolution and phylogenetic analysis by Barry Sinervo

UCONN: Kent Holsinger's course in Population Genetics

UArizona: Genetic Drift Simulator

UCB: Geological Time Scale (from the UC Berkeley's Museum of Paleontolgy)

University of Waikato, New Zealana: Carbon Dating, Radiocarbon Laboratory

University of Leeds: Human Evolution (a lower division course, but good material)

URochester: Warren Lathe's lower division Evolution course syllabus with links to study questions on every topic

UArizona: Bruce Walsh's page on Quantiative Genetics with links to several online courses

SDSU: Mike Simpson's course on Evolution of Life on Earth

SDSU: Mike Simpson's page of links on The Origins of Life

Visit the WGBH Evolution site
 
 

At times I am asked for links to web sites about Evolutionary Biology, and especially about social issues and implications of the discipline.

Here are a few I have come across:

1)I recommend a document entitled: “Evolution, Science, and Society: Evolutionary Biology and the National Research Agenda.”This includes background information on the discipline and concepts.You can obtain some information on the production of this document, and access to it, at the home page of the American Society of Naturalists.
The Executive Summary [html format]
[pdf format with neat color pictures]
The Full Document [html format]
[pdf format with neat color pictures; warning: over 2.4mb]
2) A few other you may find of interest include:
National Center for Science Education

The National Academy of Sciences webpage on Evolution

A publication by the National Academy of Sciences

Religion, Science, and Evolution

The “Tree of Life” webpage
 


 
 

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