BIOLOGY 3006* EVOLUTION  Spring 2014

*Formerly Biology 38

COURSE WEB PAGE:  http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/biology/franz/biology38/index.html

Section EWZ6 – Class Meets Wednesday Evening  6:05 – 7:45 p.m., Room NE 113

This is one of the great social functions of science -- to free people from superstition.
-- Steven Weinberg, April, 2000

Lect.1  Date                         Topic

INTRODUCTION TO EVOLUTION:  DARWIN, NATURAL SELECTION AND THE ‘MODERN SYNTHESIS’                                               

  1a    Jan    29 The Scientific Method (read the Nature of Science (through “Science  Exists in a  Cultural Context (3)];

                           Also, read and be  prepared to discus The Nature of modern Science by Martin Nickels; The issue:  How

                           to explain bio-diversification (How do new species arise, and how do existing forms adapt to their

                           environment?)   Darwin and Darwinism: Carefully read a Brief Biography of Charles Darwin; An

                           audiobook of the Origin of Species is available.   Listen to evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins on The

                           Genius of Charles Darwin  Episode 1];Read abut Darwin and view the Podcast by Dr. Elliott Sober;

                           View this interesting video showing  how physiological studies are done on some Galapagos Animals

 

     

   1b                   Read Seven Things About Evolution; The Rise of Genetics (Mendel, DeVries, T.H. Morgan), The 'Modern Synthesis'  At your leisure, view the

                           documentary film What   Darwin Didn't Know;  Microevolution Vs Macroevolution:  View the YouTube

                           Mass Extinctions and/or  5 Major Extinction Events; View  Role of Volcanoes  

                    

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                           Important Home Study Assignment:  This material is not covered specifically in lecture, but is very

                           Important. The Tree of life – For a brief introduction to cladistic analysis and the construction and

                           interpretation of phylogenetic trees in biology, click on Evolution 101(the UC Berkeley evolution web

                           page) and read from Introduction through ‘How We Know What Happened When’.  Also, view the

                           slide show from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute entitled (Creating Phylogenetic Trees from DNA

                           Sequences

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THE HISTORY OF LIFE AND THE GENETIC BASIS OF EVOLUTION

 

  2a       Feb  5     Genome structure and size (C-value paradox); Structural Vs. Regulatory genes (In necessary, review the structure of Gene;

                              Gene Regulation; Origin of phenotypic variation: Read Sources of Variation; Independent assortment and recombination,

                              Gene mutations and the origin of new alleles;  Transposable elements  and repetitive sequences as major genomic changes;

                              Read;  Mutations; Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs), Listen to Dr. Francis Collins.

    

 2b          Origin of genes: gene duplications and deletions; the fate of duplicated genes;  Trypsin genes as an example of evolution by gene duplication

                              (Read about amylase gene duplications and diet; Read gene duplications and the Human Brain; Behaviour Genes in mice;

                              Gene duplications and skinny people.  The genetic basis of strait variation: single-gene (monogenic) trait (sickle-cell anemia and

                              other examples in human)  multi-gene (polygenic) trait (additive or epistatic); Polygenic Inheritance (Read about the the genetics of

                              eyecolor; Heritability (Read the first page only) . 

 

THEORY OF SELECTION AND POPULATION GENETICS VIEW OF EVOLUTION

 

 3a     Feb 19    Theory of Natural Selection, Hardy-Weinberg Theorem; Selection Coefficients; Fitness;  Deviating from Hardy-Weinberg: Effect of selection  

               

 3b                      Evolution in the lab – Lensky's long-term experiment; Selection continued; Read Monogamy in Prairie Voles, The Peppered Moth – an Update;

                           Evolution of light coat color in Florida beach mice; and dark coat color in Rock Pocket Mice; DDT 

 

 4a     Feb  26     Modes of Selection: directional, stabilizing, and diversifying (disruptive) selection 

 

 4b                     Balancing Selection: Heterozygote Advantage, Frequency-Dependent Selection; Negative frequency-dependent selection

           (read the Abstract, Introduction, and click on Fig. 1); Polymorphism  in Walking stick Insects

   

           

5a       Mar 5     Mimicry (read about Bates and Muller, and note particularly the example of Mullerian mimicry in Dendrobates frogs and Batesian Mimicry in the

                           butterfly Papilio dardanus; Also. Read about Batesian mimicry in the Tiger Swallowtail;  Read “A Striking Resemblance”; Check out examples of

                           Batesian Mimicry; Frequency-Dependent selection in relation to mimicry;  Look at the slideshow: A Collection of False Peepers

 

5b                     Evolution Without Selection – Random Change and Genetic Drift; The Dunkers; Founder Effects and Bottlenecks; Inbreeding and

                         inbreeding Depression; Avoidance mechanisms

 

 

EVOLUTION OF SEX, SEXUAL SELECTION, INTRAGENOMIC CONFLICT AND BALANCE

 

 

6a      Mar 12  HOUR EXAM 1  [GRADES WILL BE LISTED IN THE ‘TEXT AND OTHER MATERIALS’ SECTION OF THE WEB PAGE  USING YOUR

                        STUDENT NUMBER]

                                              

6b                       Sex: Haploid/Diploid Life Cycles; Isogamy and Anisogamy; Mating Types; The Weird Sisters

                           [See LECTURE NOTES for  Sex Lecture 1]        

         

 7a      Mar 19    Disadvantages of Sex (2-fold cost etc.); See Fruit Flies Sick from Mating;

 

7b                        Advantages of sex (Mullers Rachet, Red Queen Hypothesis; Read Biology - Where the Red Queen Rules; read Empirical  results, and

                           about the snails, Potamopyrgus antipodarum); Sex and variable environments (read the Abstract); Read Parasite and Host in Constant

                           Game of Catch-up;   Battle of the Sexes; "Torture" phallus in

                           Beetles; Traumatic insemination in Bedbugs (read abstract and click on Fig. 1). Duck Rape; Female flies fight back (Read the abstract

                                   and author’s summary; Promiscuous Antelopes)

                                                  

 8a       Mar 26   Levels of Selection-  Interagenomic conflict (mitochondrial Vs Nuclear); Intragenomic Conflict

 

 8b                       Genomic Imprinting;  [Morning Sickness hypothesis];  [Read Mom and Dad are fighting in your genes?; also “Genes

                            of parents compete in the fetus” ]      

 

 9a       Apr  2     Sexual Selection;  Sexual Selection: Modes and Models;  Sex is Thirst-quenching (nuptial gifts); Mother Knows Best: (Female control);Good Genes;

                             Stalk-Eyed Flies ; Red-Winged Blackbirds; Read Houde's Commentary  on sexual ornamentation in females.  Be prepared to discuss Forsgren’s hypothesis,

                             results and interpretation.  Is it applicable to human females?  Size isn’t everything – read abstract; Birds-of-Paradise; View Female Choice

                             in Fiddler Crabs

 

 9b                        Cost and limits of sexual selection; Trade-offs

 

 KIN SELECTION, INCLUSIVE FITNESS AND THE EVOLUTION OF ALTRUISM AND COOPERATION

 

 

10a       Apr 9    Kin Selection and Altruism: The theory of kin selection (inclusive fitness) developed by W.D. Hamilton;  Altruism in Florida Jays

                            (Helping- at the nest)

 

 10b                       Altruism in eusocial insects: Haplodiploidy  and **{ Social Insects; Naked Mole Rats;  A gene for altruism

                              discovered;  Altruism to strangers; Prisoner's Dilemma  (Play the Game ); **Not  covered in lecture; you are

                              responsible for Reciprocal altruism} Read about Reciprocal Altruism   

 

                              SPRING BREAK

                                               

 

  SPECIATION,  ADAPTATION, AND EXTINCTION

                                                            

11a      Apr  23    HOUR EXAM 2  [GRADES WILL BE LISTED IN THE ‘TEXT AND OTHER MATERIALS’ SECTION OF THE WEB PAGE  USING YOUR

            STUDENT NUMBER]

                                       

11b                View the video “Facts of Evolutiion: “Speciation and Extinction of Evolution: Species Concepts in Biology: Species and  Speciation;

                          The Allopatric model Sympatric speciation (Read about House mice

                          species on the island of Madeira; View the video on speciation in California salamanders, and example of a Ring Species ;

                          Polyploidy, Allopolyploidy  [Read The Species Scape for a summary of speciation theory; pay

                          particular attention  To slides 15-19,  From Dr. Rod Page, Univ. Glasgow]

 

12a       Apr 30   Sympatric speciation   (example: true fruit flies   Rhagoletis pomonella species complex); Read Sex, speciation, and fishy physics for a

                             Discussion of how sympatric speciation may occur in cichlid fish species;  Hybridization (Read article by Sean Carroll)

 

  THE EVOLUTION OF DEVELOPMENT AND MACROEVOLUTION

 

12b                        Adaptations Vs Exaptations – The role of co-option in evolution; Homology; Cambrian Explosion;

                              Toolkit Genes; EvoDevo (View the video; Listen carefully); View the short firm Evolving Switches, Evolving Bodies (Howard Hughes

                               Medical Institute), if you are unable to view the video, you can  How The Stickleback Lost its Fins, or check out The Story of Pitx1

                                                                          

13a        May 7     The evolution of animal body plans; Evolution of Arthropods; Regulatory Genes in ;  Hox genes, homeotic mutations, Hox Genes and

                               the Origins of Animals (click on ‘Case Studies’ then ‘Hox Genes’,                                                                             

 

 

 13b                         Evolution of eyes           

 

 14a          May 14     EvoDevo Continued

 

 14b  

 

            

              May  21         FINAL EXAM – 6:00-8:00 P.M.

 

                       

 

                                 

         

 

 

1 Each class meeting is a double lecture, designated ‘a’ or ‘b’ above