BIOSM 1780

Evolution and Marine Diversity

Course Description

Course information provided by the 2024-2025 Catalog.

This class focuses on patterns of biodiversity and processes of evolution. Topics include the diversity of life, the fossil record, macroevolutionary patterns, the genetics and developmental basis of evolutionary change, processes at the population level, evolution by natural selection, modes of speciation, long-term trends in evolution, and human evolution. This course is suitable for life sciences majors.

Forbidden Overlaps Forbidden Overlap: due to an overlap in content, students will recieve credit for only one course in the following group: BIOEE 1780, BIOEE 1781, BIOSM 1780.

Permission Note Enrollment limited to: students who are either: a) matriculated students at Cornell, UNH or at any 4-year college or university; or b) incoming first-year students who will arrive at Cornell or UNH in fall.

Course Attribute (CU-SBY)

Last 4 terms offered 2023SU, 2022SU, 2021SU, 2020SU

Outcomes

• Students will be able to describe in scientific terms the underlying causal principles of evolutionary diversification.
• Students will be able to apply these principles to understand historical and contemporary evolutionary scenarios.
• Students will be able to identify core taxa in the tree of life, their characteristics, and describe the relationships among them.
• Students will be able to apply basic conceptual and analytical tools to describe complex relationships within the tree of life.
• Students will be able to apply a number of experimental and synthetic approaches to analyzing and discovering evolutionary processes (microevolution) and establishing evolutionary patterns (macroevolution).
• Students will be able to articulate the dimensions of evolutionary issues that require decisions in our society.

Distribution Category (BIO-AS) (BIO-AG, OPHLS-AG)

When Offered Summer.

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