Emlen, Douglas J.

Fishman, Lila

English

University of Montana

University of MontanaScholarWorks at University of MontanaSyllabi Course Syllabi9-2014BIOB 595.01: Special Topics - Advanced Topics inGenetics and EvolutionLila FishmanUniversity of Montana - Missoula, lila.fishman@mso.umt.eduDouglas J. EmlenUniversity of Montana - Missoula, Doug.Emlen@mso.umt.eduLet us know how access to this document benefits you.Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umt.edu/syllabiThis Syllabus is brought to you for free and open access by the Course Syllabi at ScholarWorks at University of Montana. It has been accepted forinclusion in Syllabi by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at University of Montana. For more information, please contactscholarworks@mso.umt.edu.Recommended CitationFishman, Lila and Emlen, Douglas J., "BIOB 595.01: Special Topics - Advanced Topics in Genetics and Evolution" (2014). Syllabi.2785.https://scholarworks.umt.edu/syllabi/2785BIOB 595: Evolution & Genetics Core Course Fall 2014Instructors:Lila Fishm an, HS 3 0 9 A , x5166, lila .fish m a n @ m so .u m t.e d u  Douglas Em len, BRB105, x2535, d o u g .e m le n @ m so .u m t.e d uOffice hours: by appointm ent w ith  e ither professorFormat: mix o f lecture and discussion, w ith  emphasis on prim ary literatureOverview: A primary goal o f the OBE core course series is to  foster conversance in the fundam ental concepts and approaches o f a given field. Conversance fo r this course means the ability to  discuss, at an inform ed but not necessarily expert level, classical and current research in evolution and evolutionary genetics. This is obviously a large task, as a single topic such as speciation or sexual selection could take up an entire semester. We w ill begin by walking through the foundation concepts o f population and quantita tive genetics (aka ecological genetics) in the pre-genomic era, then move on to  the use o f molecular data to  investigate short and long-term evolution (population genomics and phylogenetics), and then explore case studies using these concepts and methods to  address long-standing questions in evolutionary biology.We w ill necessarily operate at a variety o f levels, w ith  the aim o f providing both novice and advanced students the opportun ity  to  enhance the ir knowledge and skills.Learning Outcomes - This course w ill provide a foundational understanding o f the key conceptual issues in Evolutionary Biology and Evolutionary Genetics. It w ill cover fundam ental concepts and approaches, both classic and contem porary, w hile providing you w ith  a basic entree into the primary literature. A basic fluency in Evolution and Genetics w ill allow  you to: 1) appreciate and evaluate major advances, challenges and opportunities in th is area; 2) in teract w ith  a broad range o f scientists (from visiting speakers to  new collaborators); and 3) broaden your own research scope/approach if you desire to integrate th is discipline into your work.Assessment and grading: We w ill evaluate (and hopefully, educate) students w ith  three kinds o f assignments.1. Precises (short critical write-ups) o f prim ary lite ra ture (15%). Preparedness and fu ll participation are key to  the success o f our discussions. To foster critical reading skills to  be used even when no t handing in an assignment, students w ill com plete five (5) precises o f assigned prim ary literature. To facilita te tim ely feedback, the firs t one w ill be completed by everyone on the same paper (most likely in Week 3), but the remaining four precis articles w ill be chosen by the student from  among those assigned.2. Integrative exams (40%). There w ill be tw o  (2) open-book/take-hom e exams sim ilar in fo rm at to  comprehensive exam questions (3 days each, choice o f questions). We emphasize tha t this course is not intended to  be a d irect preparation fo r comps; every com m ittee is unique, and some students w ill get no evolution or genetics questions at all at the ir comps and others w ill be tested at a much higher level. However, integrative exam questions w ill be designed to  test the kinds o f fundam ental knowledge and synthetic/critica l th inking skills tha t comps question are likely to  also demand. These exams w ill be scheduled fo r ~Week 7-8 and Week 12-14, so w ill span the 3 topic areas.3. Final project (30%). "Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light o f evo lu tion" (Dobzhansky 1973), so we w ill ask students to  make sense o f some aspect o f the ir own thesis research/organism from  an evolutionary perspective. This project w ill be in the form  o f a research proposal, but w ill be a 15-20 m inute oral presentation rather than a w ritten  document. The presentations w ill be during finals week (more info when we get closer)In addition to  the above assignments, students w ill be evaluated on participation (15%), evaluated through contribution to the discussion. Attendance w ill not be form ally m onitored, but engagement is expected.Additiona l Details on GradingParticipation and precises w ill be graded according to  category: - = 70%, V = 85% and + = 100%, whereas exams and research presentation w ill be graded on a linear scale (0-100%).Course and University Policies:Disability - Students w ith  disabilities may request reasonable m odifications by contacting e ither instructor. The University o f Montana assures equal access to  instruction through collaboration between students w ith  disabilities, instructors, and Disability Services fo r Students. "Reasonable" means the University perm its no fundam ental alterations o f academic standards or retroactive modifications.Academic misconduct - All students must practice academic honesty. Academic misconduct is subject to  an academic penalty by the course instructor and/or a disciplinary sanction by the University. All students need to  be fam ilia r w ith  the Student Conduct Code: (h ttp ://w w w .um t.edu /vpsa /po lic ies /s tuden t conduct.php).Evolution & Genetics Core Course Fall 2014Date Topic LeaderM 25 Aug Introduction and organization F/EEcological and quan tita tive  geneticsW 27 Aug Mendelian genetics FM 1 Sept No Class -  Labor DayW 3 Sept Overview o f the 4 "forces" FM 8 Sept Integrating the 4 forces FW 10 Sept Phenotypic variation -  w ith in  populations FM 15 Sept Phenotypic variation -  among populations FW 17 Sept Genotype-phenotype mapping FM 22 Sept Genetic Correlations FW 24 Sept Plasticity & GxE EUsing m olecular data to  study evo lu tionM 29 Sept Neutral theory GW 1 Oct Drift/Coalescent GM 6 Oct Molecular popgen -  Intro GW 8 Oct Molecular popgen -  detecting selection FM 13 Oct Molecular evolution - Introduction EW 15 Oct Molecular evolution - detecting selection FM 20 Oct Phylogenetics - molecular clocks EW 22 Oct Phylogenetics -  tra it evolution EM 27 Oct Phylogeny estimation guestW 29 Oct Phylogeny estimation (exercise) guestEvolutionary genetics and genomics -  case studiesM 3 Nov Sexual Selection and Mating Systems EW 5 Nov Sexual Selection EM 10 Nov Sexual selection EW 12 Nov Speciation -  overview F/EM 17 Nov Speciation - mechanisms FW 19 Nov Adaptation -  parallel evolution? FM 24 Nov Adaptation -  dines? FW 26 Nov No class -  Travel dayM 1 Dec Adaptation -  transcriptomics? EW 3 Dec EvoDevo EWeek o f Dec 8th - Final Presentations

BIOB 595.01: Special Topics - Advanced Topics in Genetics and Evolution

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BIOB 595.01: Special Topics - Advanced Topics in Genetics and Evolution

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