COURSES TAUGHT BY STEVAN J. ARNOLD
Introduction
to Evolution (Zoology 345, 3 credits, Spring term beginning in
2003).- Elements of evolutionary theory;
origin and history of life; evolutionary controversy; origins of species, sex,
and humans.
Text.- S. C. Stearns and R. F. Hoekstra. 2000. Evolution: An Introduction,
Evolution (Biology 445/555, 3 credits,
Winter term beginning in 2003).- Formal analysis of genetic and ecological mechanisms producing
evolutionary change; special topics include speciation, ecological constraints,
adaptive radiations, paleontology, biogeography, the origin of life, molecular
evolution, and human evolution. PREREQ: BI 311; BI 370.
Syllabus: Click HERE; sample lecture outline Click HERE
Text.- Freeman, S. and J. C. Herron. 2001. Evolutionary Analysis, 2nd edition. Prentice Hall. 704 p.
Quantitative Genetics and Evolution (Zoology 565, 3
credits, Fall term, even-numbered years).- Quantitative
genetics is the theory of inheritance for characters that are affected by many
genes. Such characters are often
continuously distributed and include: body size and shape and many
morphological traits; most behavioral and physiological traits; life history
attributes and components of fitness.
Quantitative genetics supplies the formal theory for the evolution of
all of these kinds of traits and is also the theory underlying plant and animal
breeding.
The first half of this
course will cover basic concepts in quantitative genetics: additive effects of
genes, additive genetic variance and covariance, phenotypic resemblance between
relatives, estimation of heritability and other genetic parameters, response to
deliberate selection, and measurement of multivariate selection in nature.
The second half of the course will focus on
quantitative genetic models for the evolution of various kinds of
characters. Topics will include: the adaptive landscape for phenotypic traits,
sexual dimorphism, mating preferences & sexually-selected traits,
plasticity, maternal effects, and infinite-dimensional traits (e.g., growth
trajectories and reaction norms).
Syllabus: Click HERE;
sample lecture outline Click HERE
Background.- A course in population genetics (e.g., Genetics 430/530) is highly desirable. Basic concepts from statistics will be used throughout the course (e.g., variance, covariance, correlation, bivariate and multivariate regression, analysis of variance).
Text.- Falconer, D. S. &. T. F. C. Mackay.1996.
Introduction to Quantitative Genetics. 4th ed.
Evolutionary Biology: Tools of the Trade (Zoology 565, CRN 17830, 3 credits, Fall term, odd-numbered years). – A comprehensive survey of methods used in evolutionary biology. Topics covered include: selection experiments, comparative studies, transplant experiments, phylogeny reconstruction, quantitative inheritance, Mendelian crosses. The emphasis in this course is on techniques that can be used to study the evolutionary processes that affect continuously distributed characters. The intent of the course is to broaden the background of students whose doctoral research is in evolutionary biology.
Syllabus: Click HERE; sample lecture outline Click HERE
Prerequisite.- A course in evolutionary processes (e.g., one that uses Futuyma’s or Freeman & Herron’stext). Graduate status or consent of instructor is needed to register. Email me for consent if you are an undergraduate and tell me about your background in evolutionary biology.
Grant Writing Workshop (Zoology 565, 3 credits, Fall term).- The aim of this course is to gain practice writing grant proposals. Each student will write and submit at least one grant proposal by the end of the term. Students should identify the specific grant of interest by the time of the first course meeting and establish whether they are eligible, etc. In past workshops students have applied for fellowships to attend special courses (e.g., Woods Hole summer courses, Organization for Tropical Studies courses), National Science Foundation grants (Predoctoral Fellowships, Dissertation Improvement Grants, Postdoctoral Fellowships), and awards from societies and foundations (e.g., Gaige Awards, Sigma Xi grants-in-aid of research, grants from the Theodore Roosevelt Fund, etc.). Taking this course does not guarantee that your proposal will be funded, but workshop participants have had notable success with their applications! The course begins with a brief overview of the main sections of a typical grant proposal (abstract, rationale, specific aims, background, research plan, significance, literature cited). After this background, the course consists of weekly reading and critiques of proposal drafts by participants in the workshop.
Images: Buffalo leafhoppers and birds of paradise from R. Riedl (1978) Order in Living Organisms. John Wiley & Sons, New York. Quadratic surfaces from Phillips & Arnold 1989 Evolution.