(Note: This web page will be modified continuously! So, please check regularly for updates). last update: 9. Dec, 2011
Tuesday, 20.09.2011, 13h15; Small lecture hall (1. Floor), Zoological Institute, Vesalgasse 1, 4051 Basel; duration approx. 30-45 Minutes.
The main goal of the course is to provide an in depth treatment of concepts, examples and methods in evolutionary genetics in its different blends. Evolution is based on changes in genome structures and gene-frequencies in response to evolutionary forces like selection, drift and migration. The field of Evolutionary Genetics studies these processes from different perspectives ranging from DNA-sequences, over allele-frequencies and the inheritance of continuous phenotypic variation to patterns of natural and sexual selection driving evolutionary change. It thereby focusses on emerging patterns at the level of the population (rather than on molecular mechanisms). This course will cover the four main domains in modern evolutionary genetics - Bioinformatics, Molecular Evolution, Population Genetics and Quantitative Genetics. The joint treatment of the four domains in a single course provides an integrated training in Evolutionary Genetics. This discipline is nowadays of increasing importance in other biological fields such as Conservation Biology, Ecology, Behavioural and Evolutionary Ecology, Behaviour Genetics, Epidemiology of infectious diseases and Evolutionary Biology in general.
The course consists of both lectures and exercises. In the lectures we discuss the concepts, the theoretical background, the methods and treat specific research examples. In the exercises, the students practice methods required to works scientifically in each of the four domains (e.g., software applications, data analysis, theoretical modeling).
The part "Molecular Evolution" is based on the textbook Molecular Evolution - A Phylogenetic Approach, by Page and Holmes (Blackwell 1998). The parts "Population Genetics" and "Quantitative Genetics" are based on the textbook A Primer of Ecological Genetics by Conner and Hartl (Sinauer Associates, Inc 2004).
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Molecular Evolution - A Phylogenetic Approach ISBN 10: 0865428891 / 0-86542-889-1 |
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A Primer of Ecological Genetics ISBN-10: 087893202X |
To pass this course and obtain the corresponding credit points, participation is required and a written final exam has to be passed. The final grading will be a combination of the gradings from each of the four parts (1/3) and the final exam (2/3).
For Master-students of the Phil.-Hist. faculty, there is an option to participate in two of the four topics (e.g., Molecular Evolution / Evolutionary Bioinformatics or Population Genetics / Quantitative Genetics). This option runs under a separate title ("Ökologische und Evolutive Genetik") and LV-Nr.(26143-01).