Course introduction and basic issues
The grand summation:
Evolution is regarded as THE CENTRAL PRINCIPLE OF BIOLOGY, yet in this country we teach it poorly. The result is that unless you are an evolutionary biology SPECIALIST you are likely to either:
- Not believe that it is real
- Accept it as revealed wisdom from trusted authority figures but not really understand it.
The purpose of HONR219D is to:
- show you that it is real
- enable you to see evolution from a specialist's perspective
- give you the tools critically to test hypotheses of evolutionary history.
- Make you aware of the subtle connections between individual development and species evolution.
To accomplish this we will:
- Focus on the pattern of evolution, the Tree of Life connecting the diversity of living things, focusing on vertebrates.
- Consider how traditional systems of taxonomy may distort our view of that pattern
- Learn and use the same techniques employed by evolutionary scientists to illuminate the pattern of evolution
- Explore the Tree of Vertebrate Life in some detail
- Identify the connections between the pattern of evolution and other biological disciplines, particularly focusing on "evo-devo," the link between evolution and embryology.
Warnings and caveats:
- In this course, the reality of evolution is considered a given. There are other courses that introduce the topic, including BSCI106.
- The course is not about dinosaurs. In fact, we pretty much ignore them. If you want dinosaurs, you should take GEOL104 or the new GEOL204 - Dinosaurs, Early Humans, Ancestors, and Evolution; The Fossil Record of Vanished Worlds of the Prehistoric Past.
- Don't be babies. Just because we will be learning to use the tools of specialists doesn't mean that it will be HARD. The wonder and glory is that it actually isn't.
- Abandon your prejudices about which animals are important. Example.
- Embrace details, even when it isn't absolutely necessary. Often, these are what make the information interesting. Example.
Some starting points:
- Review the Scientific Method.
- Pet peeves with the Linnean System of Taxonomy.
- Issue 1: How can evolution and extinction be the same thing?
- Issue 2: Being in the "Family" way.
- Issue 3: How is the Linnean System Science.