Biology 252-02 -- Organisms, Evolution, and Ecology

Spring 2008 -- Prof. J. Brown

Course information

• Schmidt-Nielsen. 1984.  Scaling, why is animal size so important? -- Chapters 1 and 2. 
• Gould, SJ. January 1974.  Size and shape: the immutable laws of design set limits on all organisms.  Natural History
  
• Darwin, C. 1959. Excerpts from On the Origin of Species.
• Questions submitted for discussion
  
• Irschick, D.J. and J.B. Losos 1998. A comparative analysis of the ecological significance of maximal locomotor performance in Caribbean Anolis lizards. Evolution 52:219-226.
• Questions submitted for discussion
  
• Brown et al  -- Manuscript   Figures
• Rubric for evaluating papers
  
• Experiments in Plant Hybridization -- Gregor Mendel (trans. by Druery and Bateson)
• Reich et al.Variation in Growth Rate and Ecophysiology among 34 Grassland and Savanna Species under Contrasting N Supply: A Test of Functional Group Differences 
  
• Goldberg DE, Landa K (1991) Competitive effect and response:  hierarchies and correlated traits in the early stages of competition. Journal of Ecology 79:1013-1030.
  
• Questions on Goldberg and Landa
  
• Protas et al.  2006. Genetic analysis of cavefish reveals molecular convergence in the evolution of albinism. Nature Genetics; Jan2006, Vol. 38 Issue 1, p107-111
• Questions on Protas et al. 2006
  
• Carroll SB (2005) Evolution at two levels: On genes and form. PLoS Biol 3(7): e245.
• Questions on Carroll
  
• Monaghan P and Haussmann MF. 2006. Do telomere dynamics link lifestyle and lifespan? Trends Ecol. Evol. 21:47-53.
• Hutchinson, et al. 2005. Prescribed fire effects on the herbaceous layer of mixed-oak forests. Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 35: 877-890.
  
• Power, Mary. 1992. Habitat Heterogeneity and The Functional Signifiance of Fish in River Food Webs. Ecology 73:1675-1688.
• Knapp et al.  1999. The keystone role of bison in North American Tallgrass Prairie.  Bioscience 49:39-50.
• Gilbert, S. 2001.  Ecological developmental biology: Developmental biology meets the real world.  Developmental Biology 233:1-12.
  

• Scaling (week 1)
• Frog mechanics
• Phylogenies -- principles and uses
• Temperature Relations
• Water relations
• Energy acquisition
• Reproduction and Allocation
• Mendelian genetics
• Heritability
• Evolutionary Forces
• Speciation
• Dispersion and Demography
• Senescence
• Competition
• Diversity
• Energy and Nutrient Cycles
  

• Quiz I 2004
• Quiz II 2004
• Quiz III 2004
• Final exam questions (examples)
• More final exam questions (examples)
  

1. Allometry problem set Week 1
2. Interpreting evolutionary trees
   
3. Analysis of variance Week 3
   

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