2018 Fall E106 syllabus & admin-9-18-18 PDF

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first class handout...

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PROCESSES IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION (Bio Sci E106). Fall 2018 [Tuesday and Thursday; 9:30–10:50; venue: SH134] Course code: 05600 Instructors: Dr. José M. Ranz ([email protected]) and Dr. Ann Sakai ([email protected]) TA: John Powers ([email protected]) CAUTION!! IMPORTANT FIRST-WEEK ANNOUNCEMENT!! Drops are not allowed after the second week of classes. Be sure you can meet the commitments of this course. Neither will we permit a WD (withdraw) at the end of the course. Adds and drops will be done only via WebReg. Instructors cannot sign add cards. Students are responsible for all materials from the start of the term. Failure to take any exams or quizzes, even those given before you have added the course, will result in a zero score for each quiz or exam. Introduction. Welcome to Ecology and Evolution. This class consists of two parts, Evolution taught by Dr. Jose Ranz, and Ecology taught by Dr. Ann Sakai. Dr. Ranz will be in charge of the first half of the course and Dr. Sakai the second half. Textbooks. The suggested textbook for the first half of the course is Evolutionary Analysis (Scott Freeman & Jon C. Herron). Both the 4th and 5th editions are suitable for this course; several copies are on reserve at the Science Library. There is no textbook for the second half, so lecture materials (available on the class website) and the web are the sources of information. iClickers will be required for the second half of the course (Ecology). Course website. All essential materials (slides, problem sets, study guide, etc.) will be posted on the course website. Discussion sections. Discussion sections are required and attendance will be taken. They are necessary for working problem sets, taking quizzes, reviewing exams/quizzes, and clarifying both lecture and reading materials. During the Ecology half of the course examples of the primary literature will also be covered to further enhance understanding of topics. You must be signed up for a discussion section in order to take this course. Times: Wednesdays at 12:00-12:50 (DBH 1429), 13:00-13:50 (DBH 1429), 15:00-15:50 (DBH 1429). Office Hours. 

Dr. Ranz: Tuesday (15:00-16:30) and Thursday (13:30-15:00) at SH465.

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Dr. Sakai: Tuesday (15:00-16:30) and Wednesday (16:00-17:00) at SH 369.

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T.A.: Tuesday (11:00-12:00) and Thursday (11:00-12:00) at SH395.

You are encouraged to post and respond to questions about the material on the Canvas discussion board first, and visit your T.A. or instructors during office hours if you need further help. Often, doubts or comments raised by more than one student will be addressed at the beginning of the lectures or on the discussion board. Questions on the contents of the lectures or discussion sections will not be addressed by e-mail. Further instructions on communications for the second half of the course will be given. In the case of communicating with the instructors and T.A. via e-mail, the student must sign it and use an UCI address. Exams. There will be a midterm for each part of the course, with the Evolution midterm mid-way through the course and the Ecology midterm during the last regular class meeting. THERE IS NO FINAL EXAM IN THIS COURSE. The midterms may include multiple-choice and short-answer questions as well as short problems. The Evolution exam is worth 100 points; the Ecology part of the course is also worth 100 points (90 exam; 4 points iClickers; 6 points discussion). 1

The Ecology exam will include questions from both the lecture material and all discussion materials (including articles). During both lectures and discussion sections we will give examples of the kinds of questions that will be on the exams. There is no cumulative final. Grading. Your grade is based on the two halves of the course, equally weighted, so there are a maximum of 200 points possible. We usually grade on a curve in which the mean will be a B-/C+, depending on how we feel the class overall is doing. Additional comments. Appropriate behavior is a requirement of the course. Further rules and regulations including those governing cheating and sexual harassment (https://aisc.uci.edu/policies/) can also be found in the Academic Honesty section of the Appendix of the Course Catalogue. Preliminary lecture and reading schedule: Lecture

Date

Topic

Readings*

1

09/27

Basic concepts of genetics (Mendelian inheritance, DNA, central dogma, mutations)

Ch 5

2

10/2

Allele frequency, polymorphism, random mating, Hardy-Weinberg (one locus)

Ch 5, 6

3

10/4

Natural selection and mutation I

Ch 6

4

10/9

Natural selection and mutation II

Ch 1, 3

5

10/11

Migration, non-random mating

Ch 7

6

10/16

Genetic drift, population subdivision, conservation genetics

Ch 7

7

10/18

Evolution at multiple loci: quantitative genetics

Ch 9, 10

8

10/23

Sex and sexual selection

Ch 8, 11

9

10/25

Speciation

Ch 16

10

10/30

Organisms and their environment

11/1

Exam on Evolutionary Genetics (Lectures 1-9); 9:30-10:50 am

11

11/6

Populations I: population growth and regulation

12

11/8

Populations II: population growth and regulation

13

11/13

Species Interactions I: Competition, Predator-prey, Mutualisms

14

11/15

Species Interactions II: Competition, Predator-prey, Mutualisms

15

11/20

Species Interactions III: Competition, Predator-prey, Mutualisms

11/22

Thanksgiving Break

16

11/27

Communities

17

11/29

Ecosystems

18

12/04

Global ecology, climate change, and why we should care

12/06

Exam on Ecology (Lectures 10-18); 9:30-10:50 am

12/13

NO CUMULATIVE FINAL

* You are not required to read all of each chapter; sections within these chapters will be assigned. Chapters for lectures 1-9 are from Freeman & Herron.

Copyright © 2018 Unless otherwise indicated, all materials on these pages are copyrighted by Dr. José Ranz and Dr. Ann Sakai. All rights reserved. No part of these pages, either text or image may be used for any purpose other than personal use. Therefore, reproduction, modification, storage in a retrieval system or retransmission, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical or otherwise, for reasons other than personal use, is strictly prohibited without prior written permission.

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