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Biology 241: Evolutionary BiologyInstructors: Jacobus de Roode (every Spring semester), Eleanore Sternberg (TA; Spring 2012), Amanda Pierce (TA; Spring 2012) and Zachary Lynch (TA; Spring 2012) Content: This undergraduate course is aimed at providing a firm understanding of evolutionary theory and its applications to other fields of biology and medicine. Topics include adaptation and natural selection, sexual selection and the evolution of sex, the evolution of conflict and cooperation, population genetics, speciation, the evolution of life, human evolution and the evolution of disease. The emphasis is on understanding and applying current theories and interpretation of scientific data. Class format: Lectures on Mondays and Wednesdays, discussion sections on Fridays. Texts: Assessment: Exams, writing assignments and discussion participation. Discussion of current and classic literature and group presentations are required. Class meets in small groups on Fridays (in different rooms). This class fulfills the Column C requirement for the Biology major. Prerequisites: Biology 141 and 142. Course schedule and syllabus: See the Biology Department's course schedule for details on scheduling. A syllabus for the Spring 2012 semester can be found here.
IBS 595: EcologyInstructors: Jacobus de Roode, Nicole Gerardo, Berry Brosi, Chris Beck, Thomas Gillespie Content: This graduate course is aimed at providing a firm understanding of ecological theory as well as the methods to study ecological questions in scientific research. Topics include population growth, species interactions, community ecology, biodiversity, experimental design and statistical analysis. Class format: The class is a mix of lectures, discussion sections and computer labs, most of them using the package R. Texts: See syllabus. Assessment: A number of written assignments. Prerequisites: An understanding of basic ecology. Course schedule and syllabus: Fall semester of odd years. A syllabus for the Fall 2011 semester is available here.
IBS 796R Section 2: Evolution of Parasite VirulenceInstructor: Jacobus de Roode Content: In this graduate seminar, we will address the question why parasite infections result in virulence (i.e. infection-induced host mortality or morbidity). Current theories to explain the evolution of parasite virulence center on adaptive and non-adaptive explanations from the parasite's point of view. Adaptive theories argue that parasite virulence is a consequence of natural selection maximizing parasite transmission between hosts, such that parasites may evolve to be virulent when such virulence results from increased transmission. In contrast, non-adaptive theories argue that virulence is uncoupled from parasite transmission and results from short-sighted or coincidental evolution or from the pathology caused by the host's immune response. In this seminar, we will critically review the literature to determine whether adaptive and non-adaptive theories are as mutually exclusive as is often argued. An explicit aim of this course it to communally write a review paper on our findings. Class format: Class meets twice weekly for 1.5 hours. Instructor and students will review literature and present findings to the rest of class. Texts: Primary literature; exact papers to be determined. Assessment: Grade will be determined on basis of class participation. Prerequisites: An understanding of basic ecology and evolution. Course schedule and syllabus: Fall 2011. A syllabus will be available shortly before the Fall 2011 semester.
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