IBS 8012 Spring 2009
Integrated Evolutionary Processes
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Dr. Julie
R. Etterson |
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Office: |
153B SSB |
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Lab: |
180 SSB |
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Phone: |
726-8110 |
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Email: |
jetterso@d.umn.edu
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Class
hours: |
8:00 – 9:50 F,
207A SSB |
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Listed on
syllabus and web page |
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Office hours: |
9:00-10:00
T or by appointment |
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Purpose: |
This course
will present current thinking on the mechanisms and consequences of evolution
at all levels of biological organization from the molecule to the ecosystem . |
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Class
format: |
8:00-8:10 |
Essay
question and reading from the primary literature (QQQ) |
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8:10-8:25 |
Student
presentation on reading |
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8:25-8:50 |
Small
group discussion of the reading |
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8:50-9:00 |
Large
group wrap up |
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9:00-9:10 |
Break |
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9:10-9:50 |
Lecture |
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Lectures: |
Lecture
material will be drawn from the primary literature. PowerPoint presentations will be handed out
at the beginning of each lecture and will include all tables and figures. |
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Essay
Questions: |
Quick Quiz
Questions (QQQ) will consist of 3-5 five essay questions on the weekly reading
assignment will be posted on the web in advance of class. Students are expected to prepare answers to
each question and will be expected to write a 10-minute essay in class on one
of the QQQ prior to the student presentation on the reading and discussion. Essays should be written in paragraph form
and provide specific examples from the assigned reading to justify your
answer. |
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Journal
article presentation and discussions: |
A
pair of students will be assigned to present each journal article and
facilitate the small-group and large-group discussions. The students will
give a brief PowerPoint presentation (15-20 min). Presentations should include the following
elements:
The
presentation should conclude with a list of thought-provoking questions
(5-10) that will be discussed in small groups (~25 min). The final question on this list should
always be “How does this paper illustrate the integrative nature of
evolutionary processes?” In the last
10 minutes of class, the assigned pair of students will facilitate discussion
of any remaining issues and summarize the major points. Students
will be graded on:
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Research
paper: |
The goal of
this assignment is for you to explore how your thesis question relates to the
major themes of this course. For some
of you, the relationship will be obvious because your research question is
inherently evolutionary. For others, I
encourage you to think about how evolutionary processes underlie your
research question. In either case, I
would like you write a review paper (~15-20 pages double spaced not including
the literature cited, 1-inch margins, 12-point font) that explores how evolutionary
processes integrate aspects of your field of study. You should include evolutionary hypotheses
and a section that describes experiments to test these hypotheses. The first draft of your paper will be reviewed
by me and two of your peers and draft will be due at the end of the semester. |
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Peer
evaluations: |
Peer
evaluation is an essential component of a scientific career. Scientists need to be able to competently
evaluate the work of others and learn how to improve their own work by
incorporating constructive criticisms.
A scientist receives peer evaluations in many aspects of their work
including: grant proposals, manuscripts, delivery of courses, annual
performance reviews, and overall evaluations of their contributions of their
field through the process of tenure and promotion. Learning how to provide and utilize
constructive criticism is an extremely important but often neglected part of
graduate education. As a part of this
course, you will be asked to provide an anonymous peer review on the first
draft of a research paper of two of your classmates. You will also receive three reviews, two
from students and one from me. You
will be expected to take the suggestions of these reviews into account in the
final draft of your research paper. |
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Class
participation: |
Active
participation is expected during lectures and discussions
and will be considered in the computation of your final grade. Attendance is mandatory |
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Grading: |
Grading
will be based on weekly in-class essay quizzes, journal article
presentations, one research paper on the topic of your choice, peer
evaluation of classmates’ research papers, and participation in lecture and
discussion. |
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Assignment |
Points per assignment |
% of final grade |
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Weekly essay
questions (15) |
10 |
15 |
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Journal article
presentation (2) |
50 |
20 |
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First draft of
research paper |
50 |
20 |
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Peer evaluation of
research paper (2) |
50 |
15 |
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Final draft of
research paper |
50 |
20 |
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Class
participation |
50 |
10 |
Tentative Syllabus
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Week |
Day |
Lecture
Topic |
TENTATIVE Assigned Reading |
Student Presentations |
Other assignments |
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1 |
1/23 |
Evolution as an integrating process |
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none |
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Variation
– a central concept |
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2 |
1/30 |
Origins of variation |
Williamson 2003. Adaptation in the env Gene of HIV-1 and Evolutionary Theories of Disease Progression Mol. Biol. Evol. 20(8):1318-1325 FYI Levy et al. 2007. The diploid genome sequence of an individual humna PLoS Biology 5:2113-3144 |
Katie, Megan and Lauren |
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3 |
2/6 |
Phylogeny
construction |
Gu
et al. 2003. Role of duplicate genes in genetic robustness against null
mutations. Nature 421:63-66 |
Adam, Janel, and Lee |
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4 |
2/13 |
Significance
of variation |
Meyer and Schartl 1999. Gene and genome duplications in vertebrates: the one-to-four |
Tommy, Elise and Ashley |
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Integrating from genes to phenotypes
in nature |
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5 |
2/20 |
What
is Evo-devo? |
Anderson et al. 2005. The
latitudinal cline in the In(3R)Payne inversion polymorphism has shifted in
the last 20 years in Australian Drosophila
melanogaster populations. Molecular Ecology 14: 851–858 |
Jennifer, Janel and Ada |
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6 |
2/27 |
Open discussion about your thesis topic and is relationship to evolutionary processes |
Abzhanov
et al. 2006. The calmodulin pathway and evolution of elongated beak
morphology in Darwin's finches |
Annie, Adam, and Elise |
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7 |
3/6 |
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Caceres et al.
2003. Elevated gene
expression levels distinguish human from non-human primate brains. PNAS
100:13030-13035 |
Chelsey and Katie |
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8 |
3/13 |
Plasticity |
Beldade et al.
2002. Developmental
constraints versus flexibility in morphological evolution. Nature 416:844-847 |
Megan and Tommy |
Turn in tentative research paper topics |
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3/20 |
Spring Break |
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Life history |
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9 |
3/27 |
Life history trade-offs |
Galloway and Etterson. 2007. Transgenerational plasticity is adaptive in the wild. Science 318:1134-1136 |
Amanda and Ada |
Turn in outline and bibliography |
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10 |
3/3 |
Evolution and behavior |
Heath et al. 2003. Rapid
evolution of egg size in captive salmon. Science 299:1738-1740 |
Carly and Sarah |
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11 |
4/10 |
The
evolution of aging |
Pfennig. 1999. Cannibalistic tadpoles that pose the greatest threat to kin are most likely to discriminate kin. |
Jennifer and Rebecca |
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12 |
4/17 |
Evolution in communities |
Hughes, K.A. et al. 2002. A test of the evolutionary theories of
aging. PNAS 99:14286 |
Chelsey and Amanda |
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Communities and ecosystems |
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13 |
4/24 |
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Grant and Grant. 2006. Evolution
of character displacement in |
Carly and Annie |
Peer evaluations due |
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14 |
5/1 |
Evolution and ecosystem
properties |
Hairston et al. 1999. Rapid evolution revealed by dormant eggs. Nature 401:446 Weider et al. 1997. Long-Term Genetic Shifts in a Microcrustacean Egg Bank Associated with Anthropogenic |
Sarah and Ashley |
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15 |
5/8 |
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Schweitzer et al. 2004.
Genetically based trait in a dominant tree affects ecosystem processes. Ecology Letters 7: 127-134 QQQ |
Lauren, Lee and Rebecca |
Example of a letter that responds to reviewer comments
Final draft of research paper due |
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Academic Dishonesty: |
Academic dishonesty tarnishes UMD's reputation and discredits the accomplishments of students. UMD is committed to providing students every possible opportunity to grow in mind and spirit. This pledge can only be redeemed in an environment of trust, honesty, and fairness. As a result, academic dishonesty is regarded as a serious offense by all members of the academic community. In keeping with this ideal, this course will adhere to UMD's Student Academic Integrity Policy, which can be found at www.d.umn.edu/assl/conduct/integrity. This policy sanctions students engaging in academic dishonesty with penalties up to and including expulsion from the university for repeat offenders.
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Student Conduct Code: |
The instructor will enforce and students are expected to follow the University's Student Conduct Code (http://www.d.umn.edu/assl/conduct/code). Appropriate classroom conduct promotes an environment of academic achievement and integrity. Disruptive classroom behavior that substantially or repeatedly interrupts either the instructor's ability to teach, or student learning, is prohibited. Disruptive behavior includes inappropriate use of technology in the classroom. Examples include ringing cell phones, text-messaging, watching videos, playing computer games, doing email, or surfing the Internet on your computer instead of note-taking or other instructor-sanctioned activities.
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Access
for Students with Disabilities:
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Individuals who have any disability, either permanent or temporary, which might affect their ability to perform in this class are encouraged to inform the instructor at the start of the quarter. Methods, materials or testing may be modified to provide for equitable participation.
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Promotion
of Bias-free Instruction: |
The
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