BIOL433 INTRODUCTION TO EVOLUTION
| Course Code: | 2380433 |
| METU Credit (Theoretical-Laboratory hours/week): | 3 (3.00 - 0.00) |
| ECTS Credit: | 6.0 |
| Department: | Biology |
| Language of Instruction: | English |
| Level of Study: | Undergraduate |
| Course Coordinator: | Prof.Dr. MEHMET SOMEL |
| Offered Semester: | Spring Semesters. |
Course Objectives
By the end of the course, the student will have learned:
- the fundamentals of evolutionary biology, the history of the field, its current day problems and applications;
- the sources of data used to study evolution, including fossil, anatomical, molecular data, and methodological approaches such as phylogenetics;
- molecular, population genetic and macroevolutionary mechanisms underlying evolution, such as mutation, natural selection, genetic drift, and speciation;
- recurrent patterns in the evolution of life forms, such as convergent evolution.
Course Content
A course dealing with the basic concepts of evolution.The topics to be covered: nature of science and evolution; evolution as science; origin of matter, unviverse and earth; from molecules to cells and organisms; universal tree of life; principles and process of evolution; the origin of selection; natural selection; nature and origin of species; human origins and evolution; culture, religion and evolution.
Course Learning Outcomes
The successul student will be able to:
- define evolution, and discriminate between evolutionary change and other changes in time;
- understand the applications of evolutionary biology in fields such as medicine and agriculture;
- apprehend the contribution of fossil, morphological, physiological, and molecular genetic studies in understanding the past;
- distinguish between genetic drift and natural selection as causes of evolutionary change;
- interpret phylogenetic tress, the common ancestor concept, make inferences from trees, and understand the use of molecular clocks;
- understand the role of random processes in evolution and the role of sampling effects, or population size, in genetic drift;
- predict possible evolutionary outcomes in particular situations;
- predict the types of mutations that can underlie different types of evolutionary and phenotypic change;
- become familiar with terminology such as silent, neutral, beneficial and detrimental mutations, gene duplications, horizontal gene transfer;
- distinguish between different types of natural selection, with respect to fates of alleles, or effects on phenotypes;
- describe major patterns in evolution, such as convergent evolution and evolutionary constraints;
- suggest experiments to study evolutionary change;
- understand the molecular bases of complex adaptations;
- describe the major changes that the Earth and its life forms underwent within the last 4.5 billion years;
- understand current models of spontaneous evolution of early life forms, chemical evolution, and the RNA world hypothesis;
- develop hypotheses on the molecular and population processes underlying evolutionary phenomena.