Instructor: Dr. Kimberly Russell Office: 431 Colton Hall
Website: http://web.njit.edu/~krussell
For future biologists, scientists or simply informed citizens, a fundamental understanding of evolutionary biology is absolutely essential. As Dobzhansky famously quipped ŌNothing in Biology makes sense except in light of Evolution.Ķ Despite this, most students (yes, even pre-meds!) make it through high school and university without truly grasping the meaning behind his statement. Why is Evolution so important? How does it alter our perception of our world and ourselves? This course will attempt to answer these questions while giving students a detailed understanding of the mechanisms of evolution and the scientific methods employed in evolutionary analysis. Topics that will be covered include the development of evolutionary theory, the history of the evolution of life on Earth, the genetic basis of variation and heredity, natural selection, evolution and development, and speciation.
GRADES
1 Midterm Exam (100 points)
1 Final Exam (120 points)
3 Quizzes (25 points each)
5 Homework Assignments (10 points each)
1) Futuyma, D. J. 2009. Evolution (Second Edition). Sinauer Associates, Inc.
Additional Readings: TBA.
|
Day |
Date |
Topic |
Schedule
& Reading Assignments |
|
M |
31-Aug |
What
is Evolution and why do we study it? |
Chapter
1; Chapter 23 (623-631) |
|
W |
2-Sep |
Historical
Perspectives |
Chapter
1, contÕd |
|
M |
7-Sep |
Labor
Day (no class) |
|
|
W |
9-Sep |
History
contÕd; Classification & Phylogeny |
Chapter
2 (17-21) |
|
M |
14-Sep |
More
on Phylogenetic Analysis |
Quiz 1; Chapter 2 (22-43) |
|
W |
16-Sep |
Patterns
of Evolution |
Chapter
3 |
|
M |
21-Sep |
Natural
Selection and Adaptation |
Chapter
11; Article due |
|
W |
23-Sep |
The
Genetics of Natural Selection; Origin of Variation |
Chapter
12; 303-308 |
|
M |
28-Sep |
The
Origin of Genetic Variation contÕd |
Chapter
8 |
|
W |
30-Sep |
More
on variation |
Quiz 2; Chapter 9 |
|
M |
5-Oct |
Genetic
Drift: Evolution at Random |
Chapter
10 |
|
W |
7-Oct |
Natural
Selection Revisited & Phenotypic Evolution |
Chapter
13; Article due |
|
M |
12-Oct |
The
Evolution of Life Histories |
Chapter
14 |
|
W |
14-Oct |
Sex
and Reproductive Success |
Chapter
15 |
|
M |
19-Oct |
|
Midterm Exam |
|
W |
21-Oct |
Conflict
and Cooperation |
Chapter
16 |
|
M |
26-Oct |
Species |
Chapter
17 |
|
W |
28-Oct |
Speciation |
Chapter
18; Article due |
|
M |
2-Nov |
Coevolution: Evolving Interactions Among Species |
Chapter
19 |
|
W |
4-Nov |
The
Evolution of Biodiversity |
Chapter
7 |
|
M |
9-Nov |
Evolution
in the Fossil Record |
Chapter
4 |
|
W |
11-Nov |
A
History of Life on Earth |
Chapter
5; Article due |
|
M |
16-Nov |
The
Geography of Evolution |
Quiz 3; Chapter 6 |
|
W |
18-Nov |
Geographical
patterns, contÕd. |
|
|
M |
23-Nov |
Evolution
of Genes and Genomes |
Chapter
20 |
|
W |
25-Nov |
Thanksgiving
(no class) |
|
|
M |
30-Nov |
Evolution
and Development |
Chapter
21; Article due |
|
W |
2-Dec |
Macroevolution:
Evolution above the Species Level |
Chapter
22 |
|
M |
9-Dec |
Evolutionary
Science, Creationism & Society |
Chapter
23 |
|
|
*TBA |
Final Exam |
|
*The final exam WILL be held during the regular final exam period. DO NOT make arrangements to leave town prior to this, as taking the exam early will NOT be an option.
Homework Assignments. As a way of reinforcing the everyday relevance of Evolution, students should be scanning the popular media throughout the semester looking for articles that are relevant to topics discussed in class. Believe me, these will not be difficult to find – a daily peruse of cnn.com, yahoo.com, the New York Times, etc., will likely yield plenty of potential articles. Five times during the semester, students are required to turn in an article they have found along with a short synopsis and discussion of how the article relates to something we have discussed in class. The synopsis and discussion should be no more than 1 page. Articles must be recent (no more than 1 month old) and NOT from scientific periodicals. You must attach a print copy of the article along with your synopsis.
Attendance. I expect you to attend lecture. It will be very difficult for anyone to do well in this class without attending lecture on a regular basis. Regardless of whether you are in class or not, however, you are responsible for everything which is discussed in lecture, everything which is assigned as class reading, and any handouts which are given in class. You are expected to make your own arrangements for access to class notes or handouts that you missed. As a study aid, I will post the lecture slides by the end of each week. Keep in mind that the slides only form an outline for the material covered in class and are therefore not a good substitute for class attendance. If you choose to use a laptop for taking notes during class, please refrain from checking e-mail or browsing the Internet – if you are caught doing so, I will ask you to put your computer away immediately.
Make up exams, quizzes and late assignments. Make up exams and quizzes will be possible only with a doctorÕs or a deanÕs letter or with prior approval. If you have a serious reason for missing an exam, you must call me BEFORE the scheduled exam period to notify me that you cannot take the exam. You are then responsible for arranging with me to make up the test or quiz within two days. Late assignments will be accepted, but penalized 10% of the points available for each 24-hour interval that they are late. E-mailed assignments will be accepted, but at your own risk – i.e., if the file I receive is corrupted or unreadable, it will be counted as late.
Academic dishonesty. I will have zero tolerance for academic dishonesty, including plagiarism or cheating. Instances of dishonesty will be punished by a zero on the assignment and consultation with the office of the Dean of Students to determine if further action is required.
Office hours. I will be in my office in Colton during office hours (unless otherwise noted) and will be happy to meet with students who have questions or concerns. I am happy to answer questions via e-mail during these times. However, if you e-mail me outside of these times, I cannot guarantee how quickly I will be able to respond. Please be patient and you will get a response.