Lectures (Video)
- 1. The Nature of Evolution: Selection, Inheritance, and History
- 2. Basic Transmission Genetics
- 3. Adaptive Evolution: Natural Selection
- 4. Neutral Evolution: Genetic Drift
- 5. How Selection Changes the Genetic Composition of Population
- 6. The Origin and Maintenance of Genetic Variation
- 7. The Importance of Development in Evolution
- 8. The Expression of Variation: Reaction Norms
- 9. The Evolution of Sex
- 10. Genomic Conflict
- 11. Life History Evolution
- 12. Sex Allocation
- 13. Sexual Selection
- 14. Species and Speciation
- 15. Phylogeny and Systematics
- 16. Comparative Methods: Trees, Maps, and Traits
- 17. Key Events in Evolution
- 18. Major Events in the Geological Theatre
- 19. The Fossil Record and Life's History
- 20. Coevolution
- 21. Evolutionary Medicine
- 22. The Impact of Evolutionary Thought on the Social Sciences
- 23. The Logic of Science
- 24. Climate and the Distribution of Life on Earth
- 25. Interactions with the Physical Environment
- 26. Population Growth: Density Effects
- 27. Interspecific Competition
- 28. Ecological Communities
- 29. Island Biogeography and Invasive Species
- 30. Energy and Matter in Ecosystems
- 31. The Factors Affecting Biodiversity
- 32. Economic Decisions for the Foraging Individual
- 33. Evolutionary Game Theory: Fighting and Contests
- 34. Mating Systems and Parental Care
- 35. Alternative Breeding Strategies
- 36. Selfishness and Altruism
Principles of Evolution, Ecology and Behavior
Course Summary
This course is based on EEB 122: Principles of Evolution, Ecology and Behavior, Spring 2009 made available by Yale University: Open Yale under the Creative Commons BY-NC-SA license.
This course presents the principles of evolution, ecology, and behavior for students beginning their study of biology and of the environment. It discusses major ideas and results in a manner accessible to all Yale College undergraduates. Recent advances have energized these fields with results that have implications well beyond their boundaries: ideas, mechanisms, and processes that should form part of the toolkit of all biologists and educated citizens.
Reading Material
1. Yale textbook: Introductory EcologyCotgreave, Peter and Irwin Forseth. Introductory Ecology. Oxford: Blackwell Science Ltd, 2002.
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2. Yale textbook: An Introduction to Behavioral Ecology
Krebs, John R. and Nicholas B. Davies. An Introduction to Behavioral Ecology, 3rd ed. Oxford: Blackwell Science Ltd, 1993.
(Click the button below to see a preview of the book)
3. Yale textbook: Evolution: An Introduction
Stearns, Stephen C. and Rolf Hoekstra. Evolution: An Introduction, 2nd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005.
Course Material
1. Midterm Exam 1 and Solutions (pdf)2. Midterm Exam 2 and Solutions (pdf)
3. Practice Midterm Exam 2 (pdf)
4. Practice Midterm Exam 2 Solutions (pdf)
5. Essay Themes (pdf)
6. Writing Assignment (pdf)
Other Resources
1. Darwin's LegacyThis is another course on Darwin's theory of evolution offered by Stanford Continuing Studies Program. It is a more general survey by leading Darwin scholars covering Darwin's far-reaching legacy in fields as diverse as anthropology, religion, medicine, psychology, philosophy, literature, and biology.
2. The Origin of Species
Charles Darwin, Julian Huxley (intro), The Origin of Species, Publisher: Signet Classic, 2003, ISBN 9780451529060
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3. Evolution
Mark Ridley, Evolution, Edition 3, Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell, 2004, ISBN 9781405103459
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4. Evolution
Nicholas H. Barton, Evolution, Publisher: CSHL Press, 2007, ISBN 9780879696849
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5. Yale Galapagos Project
The Yale Galapagos Project was designed to support a three-week learning activity in Prof. Stephen Stearns's undergraduate course "Principles of Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior". The project seeks to provoke students' curiosity about the natural world and to strengthen their ability to ask good scientific questions based on their own observations.
