BIO2022

Evolution and systematics

Dr Martin Burd

4 points - Two 1-hour lectures and one 2-hour practical or equivalent - Second semester - Clayton - Prerequisites BIO1011 and BIO1022 or BIO1032 or BIO1042 - Prohibitions: BOT2022, ZOO2022

Objectives At the completion of this subject students should understand the principles of the major systematic philosophies and the implications of their application to classifying organism diversity; the historical development of evolutionary theory; the evidence for evolution; the fundamental processes of evolution.

Synopsis This subject emphasises evolution as the fundamental process underlying all biological phenomena. The historical development of evolutionary ideas, and the processes of natural selection as currently understood, are introduced. Next, different theories of evolutionary systematics (classification systems) are examined, and the use of these approaches in measuring and managing biodiversity are considered. The history of life on earth, from its chemical origins through the extinctions and radiations of species that have preceded the planet's current biota, is studied in some detail. The role of evolutionary events such as vicariance and dispersal in producing biogeographical patterns follows from this historical perspective. We then develop various topics concerning processes of evolutionary change: causes of genetic variation and genetic change in natural populations, hybridisation in plants and animals, mechanisms of reproductive isolation and formation of new species, the role of developmental processes in evolution, the evolution of sex and sexual selection, and the nature of adaptation.

Assessment Theory examinations: 50% - Practical reports: 25% - Essay: 25%

Prescribed texts

Price P Biological evolution Saunders, 1996

Back to the 1999 Science Handbook