BIOL423-18S2 (C) Semester Two 2018

Evolutionary Ecology

15 points

Details:
Start Date: Monday, 16 July 2018
End Date: Sunday, 18 November 2018
Withdrawal Dates
Last Day to withdraw from this course:
  • Without financial penalty (full fee refund): Sunday, 29 July 2018
  • Without academic penalty (including no fee refund): Sunday, 14 October 2018

Description

Aims to equip ecology students with the evolutionary biology underpinning the dicipline. Students will advance their knowledge of current issues and approaches in evolutionary ecology, particularly those of relevance to global change. The course has a focus on phenotypic evolution and processes occurring at the interface of ecology and evolution.

This course aims to equip ecology students with the evolutionary biology underpinning the discipline. Students will advance their knowledge of current issues and approaches in evolutionary ecology, particularly those associated with rapid evolution and eco-evolutionary feedbacks. The course has a focus on phenotypic evolution and processes occurring at the interface of ecology and evolution.

Tutorial topics have been chosen to give students an insight into the rapid evolution occurring in today’s world. We will consider natural selection, epigenetics (heritable change not involving change in DNA sequences) and more applied topics including understanding the power of genomics in ecology and the value of collections (plants and animals) in helping us understand current change.

Recommended preparatory course(s): BIOL377, BIOL378 or BIOL371

Learning Outcomes

  • 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: internal assessment).
  • understand how evolutionary processes underpin ecological interactions (task: seminar).
  • access, synthesise and critically assess primary scientific literature on evolutionary ecology (Assessment task: final exam).
  • synthesise primary scientific literature in order to generate a clear and concise argument in support of a perspective (assessment task: final exam).
  • discuss evolutionary ecology with leading scientists in the field.

    Transferable Skills Register
    As a student in this course, I will develop the following skills:
  • Discovery, synthesis and interpretation of information.
  • Evaluation of arguments and evidence, and debating alternative points of view.
  • Engage in science and technology issues with a broader understanding of their social context.

Prerequisites

Subject to approval of the Head of School.

Restrictions

BIOL478

Course Coordinator

For further information see School of Biological Sciences Head of Department

Assessment

Assessment Due Date Percentage 
Essay for a science magazine 30%
Final Exam 60%
Short in-tutorial presentations 10%

Course links

Course Outline

Indicative Fees

Domestic fee $1,013.00

* 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 .

All BIOL423 Occurrences

  • BIOL423-18S2 (C) Semester Two 2018