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Welcome to the Biology 418 web site. This course presents an overview of current knowledge and modern research in evolutionary ecology.

The contents of these page are updated frequently. Click the reload button on your browser button to ensure you are seeing the most recent version.


Course 2021

Tutorial times will be decided in the first week of class.

Attendance at the first lecture is therefore mandatory or tutorial times may conflict with timetables of absent students.

Check the Info tab for course times and other information, and the Outline tab for a course outline.


Bibliography for lectures

These links provide the reference source materials for lectures. The references will be updated through the term.

Links in parentheses are to pdf files containing the overheads given in lecture, which I will make available before each lecture.

You require Adobe Reader or Adobe Acrobat to read the lecture overheads.

  1. Intracellular symbionts and sex ratio
  2. Natural selection
  3. Variation in natural populations
  4. Evolutionarily stable strategies
  5. Optimal foraging
  6. Coevolution of competitors
  7. Predator-prey coevolution
  8. Host-parasite coevolution
  9. Coevolution of mutualists
  10. Evolution of life histories
  11. Sexual selection
  12. Evolution of sexual reproduction
  13. Ecology and speciation

Readings for discussions

Links provide information on required and supplementary readings for the tutorials.

New links will be added weekly.

To access any online journal publications from off campus, follow the instructions here.

Note: Although 5 essays are shown, we will be basing your mark on your top 4.

  1. Natural selection in the wild

  2. Eco-evolutionary dynamics ** First essay due Friday Oct 1, 5pm *

  3. Tit-for-tat

  4. Optimal habitat selection ** Second essay due Friday Oct 22, 5pm **

  1. Plant and insect coevolution

  2. Evolution of virulence ** Third essay due Friday Nov 5, 5pm **

  3. Predation and life history ** Fourth essay due Friday Nov 19, 5pm **

  4. Evolution of senescence

  5. Sexual selection ** Fifth essay due Friday Dec 3, 5pm **

  6. Evolution of sex

 

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