Graduate Course Listing

The interests of our graduate students and faculty change from time to time, and new developments in the field occur constantly. As a result, course offerings are always being revised and updated. To increase our flexibility the department has gone to listing fewer courses with more general titles. The content for these more general courses will change in accord with the needs of the current graduate students and the expertise of the instructors. The revised list of graduate courses follows:

200 Research in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (2-12 per quarter) F,W,S. Individual research supervised by a particular professor.

201 Seminar in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology ( 2-2-2 ) F,W,S. Invited speakers present current research in ecology and evolutionary biology. Required of all graduate students.

203 Graduate Tutorial in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (2 to 12) Advanced study in areas not represented by formal courses. May involve individual or small group study through reading, discussion, and composition.

204 Writing Grant Proposals (2) S. Provides students with hands-on experience writing proposals in their research area of ecology, evolution, organismal biology, or physiology.

205 Special Topics in Ecology (4) F. Survey of special topics in ecology. The course balances theoretical and empirical approaches and includes readings in the classic and contemporary primary literature. Topics include population growth and demography, dynamics of species interactions, community organization, ecology of sex and sociality, and coevolution.

206 Special Topics in Evolution (4) S. Extensive introduction to the primary literature of evolutionary biology. Topics include population genetics, quantitative genetics, neutralism, molecular evolution, evolution of genetic systems, genetic architecture of fitness, speciation and macroevolution.

207 Quantitative Methods in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (4) W. Statistics for ecologists and evolutionary biologists. Emphasis on specific applications and underlying assumptions rather than on methods of calculation. Topics include experimental design, parametric and nonparametric methods, analysis of variance and covariance, and multiple regression.

208 Special Ecological & Evolutionary Physiology (4) F. A summary of information in organismal biology, comparative and ecological physiology, and the biophysical basis of organismal function.

210A-B-C Foundations of Physiology ( 4-4-4 ) F,W,S. Physical and functional principles common to many living forms stressed. Course forms a basis for subsequent specialization in any of the subdisciplines of physiology.

218 Advanced Topics in Evolutionary Biology (4) F,S. Content and instructor will vary from quarter to quarter. Possible topics include quantitative genetics, experimental methods of evolutionary studies, mathematical modeling in evolutionary studies and the evolution of genetic systems.

219 Advanced topics in Ecological Genetics (4) W. Content and instructor will vary from quarter to quarter. Possible topics include quantitative genetics, experimental methods of evolutionary studies, mathematical modeling in evolutionary studies and the evolution of genetic systems.

221 Topics in Plant Ecology (2 to 4) F, W, S. Weekly discussion of current topics in plant population biology and ecology. Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory only. May be repeated for credit as topics vary.

223 Advanced Applied Statistics (3) W. Applications of general linear models using SAS software. Topics include: theory of general linear models, multiple regression, multivariate analysis, and random effects in mixed models. Sample data come from ecology and evolution and are analyzed using SAS.

227 Seminar in Population/Community Ecology (2) F,W,S. Selected topics in population or community ecology (such as island biogeography, evolution of sex ratios, reproductive biology of marine birds) through discussion of current literature and preparation of papers.

228 Seminar in Conservation Biology (2) F,W. A graduate seminar devoted to the application of basic ecological principles to the understanding and resolution of environmental problems of both local and global natures. Current problems will be approached through a combination of readings, group discussions and visiting speakers.

251 Molecular Evolutionary Methods (4). Emphasizes the understanding of basic algorithms used to analyze nucleotide and amino acid sequences, including methods of alignment, phylogeny reconstruction, and the examination of molecular clocks, codon bias, and compositional equilibrium. Includes simple computer problems.

274 Behavioral Ecology (4) W. Selected topics in behavioral ecology through discussion of current literature and preparation of papers.

280 Demystifying DNA (3) W. Provides students with hands-on experience in molecular biology techniques, including genomic DNA extractions, PCR, cloning, working with plasmids, Southern blots, library construction, and library screening.

285 Topics in Evolutionary Genetics (2) F,W,S. Weekly discussion of recent research on evolutionary genetics.

398 Teaching Assistant Seminar (2) W. Readings , lectures, workshops, and student presentations designed to help develop teaching skills of graduate students teaching university-level biology classes. Topics will vary and may include: course organization, presentation styles, exam design, grading, motivating students, and commonly encountered problems.