ECOL523

038736

Sex has profound effects throughout biology and much of human affairs, yet the evolution of sex remains one of the great unsolved mysteries in biology. To understand the evolution of sexual and asexual forms of reproduction, we need to understand what it means to be an individual in evolution. Why have the different kinds of biological individuals evolved that are found in the hierarchy of life? This course will explore these and related issues using a rigorous framework based on your introductory and mid-level biology courses. We will find that the Darwinian paradigm of competition needs some updating. When it comes to understanding the most general properties of life, cooperation plays an even greater role. Graduate-level requirements include additional questions on each exam and they will be assigned more working problems than undergraduates in the problem sets. In addition an in-class presentation of a class project will be required of graduate students.

GRD - Regular Grades A, B, C, D, E

Graduate

ECOL423