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The focus of this course is on how the interplay between ecological and evolutionary forces generate biological diversity at many levels, and how this knowledge is used to solve problems in human health, agriculture and conservation.
Evolutionary ecology is the branch of ecology that considers how organisms have evolved to become adapted to their physical environment and how they interact with members of their own, and other species. It considers the evolutionary effects of competitors, mutualists, predators, prey and pathogens. Unifying ideas in this course are evolution within ecological timeframes and evolutionary mechanisms leading to the evolution of new species.
As a student in this course I will develop the ability to: have a critical appreciation of current questions and approaches in evolutionary ecology (assessment task: quizzes, final exam,GP1,GP3, GP5; K1, K7).understand how evolutionary processes underpin ecological interactions (assessment task: quizzes, essay, final exam, GP1,GP2, GP5; K5, K7).appreciate the roles of observational, experimental and comparative evidence in answering questions of evolutionary ecology (assessment task: final exam and oral presentation, GP1,GP2, GP3, K1).synthesise and critically assess primary scientific literature in order to be able to summarise scientific papers in the form of an essay and an oral presentation (Assessment task: essay, oral presentation GP2).Synthesise primary scientific literature able to generate a clear and concise argument in support of a perspective (assessment task: final exam, GP2).Pūkenga ngaio / Transferable skillsThe following skills are developed in this course:Synthesising and interpreting information. In everyday life and in many job situations you will be required to read information from different sources, construct your own understanding and shape your own viewpoint. In lectures and tutorials we will discuss recent research papers in a group environment and this will develop your abilities to identify the essential elements of research outputs - you will then use in your talk and essay writing. (GP1, GP2, GP5)Ability to find relevant information in the popular and scientific literature As part of the essay assignment you will learn how to identify and access current and relevant information. (GP1 & 2) Presenting a scientific talk. The scientific talk has become one of the most important communication forums for the scientific community; more people are likely to listen to you talk than read your paper. In many ways your research reputation will be enhanced (or diminished) by your scientific talk. We have developed tutorials to help you create a good talk and provide opportunities for you to present your talk in a conference situation. (GP1 & 2)Work in a team. You will work in teams to prepare and present your conference papers. (GP2)
BIOL271
Students must attend one activity from each section.
Feedback from Course Survey 2022 We had high scores 4/4-4.6 across the feddback questions which indicates the 2022 students thought the course was of igh quality. Unfortunately no written comments/suggestions on which we can act.Our lowest score (4.4) was to the question involving to what extent the organisation in the course helped in learning. We have therefore given this considerable though and made a few changes to increase engagement.1. Only one attempt will be allowed for each quiz.2. Quiz questions will directly relate to readings.3. Links between the different lectures will be made more obvious, so that students can see the lecturers in the course are teaching as a team, each contributing to a well designed curriculum.4. The length of the exam will be increased to three hours, with at least one question answered from each lecturer.Note: By taking this course students agree that all required papers may be subject to submission for textual similarity review to Turnitin.com for the detection of plagiarism. All submitted papers will be included as source documents in the Turnitin.com reference database solely for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of such papers. Use of the Turnitin.com service is subject to the Terms and Conditions of Use posted on the Turnitin.com site.
Hazel Chapman
Pieter Pelser and Craig Herbold
Professor Dave Kelly (School of Biological Sciences, UC) and Professor Jim Fordyce (Visiting Erskine, University of Tennessee)
There is no single textbook required for this course however we are using Eco-Evolutionary Dynamics by Andrew Hendry as a reference text. It is available as a e book- downloadable- in the library. In addition, during the course each lecturer will identify key books and scientific papers relevant to each lecture. We will ensure the most current literature is available to you on LEARN.To do well in final exam you must show evidence that you have read and understood this material.
Course Outline
Domestic fee $1,036.00
International fee $5,188.00
* All fees are inclusive of NZ GST or any equivalent overseas tax, and do not include any programme level discount or additional course-related expenses.
For further information see School of Biological Sciences .