Lecture 0: Intro and Logistics

– This time
Bio 222: • A Brief Overview of Evolutionary Biology
Evolution • Course outline and logistics
• Pretest
Professor – Next time
Daniel E. Bunker • Chapter 1. An Overview of Evolutionary Biology
• Chapter 2. Early Evolutionary Ideas and
Darwin’s Insight
• Get an iClicker if you do not already have one!

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A bit about me A bit about me

• Research interests: • Teaching
Ecology and – Evolution!
Evolutionary Biology
– Critical Thinking
– Impacts of deer
for Research in
herbivory on
the Life Sciences
forest
regeneration • (teaching PhD
students to think
– Urban ecology like scientists)
– Bioinformatics – Graduate Ecology
– Pollination
ecology

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 What is Evolution? What is Evolution?
• What is evolution? • Macroevolution
– Gradual change over time – Speciation and
biological radiations
• What is Evolution? (aka biological evolution)
– Hawaiian
– Change in the properties of groups of honeycreepers
organisms (populations and species) • Microevolution
over the course of generations
– Evolution in bill size
– Changes in allele (gene) frequencies in a the Akekee
population over time • Microevolutionary
processes lead to
macroevolutionary
changes
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Questions in Biology Questions in Biology

• “How questions” vs. “Why questions” • Every characteristic of
– How do birds sing? vs. Why do birds every species -- including
our own -- is the outcome
sing?
of an evolutionary
– How does photosynthesis work? vs. Why history.
does photosynthesis occur in the – The wings, and flight,
chloroplasts and not in the cell nucleus of Pterodactyls, Bats,
or cytoplasm? and Birds each
– How does cancer progress? vs Why evolved independently
have we not evolved to avoid cancer? – But the BONES that
• Why Questions are answered by are within these wings
Evolutionary Biology! evolved only once
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 Questions in Biology Questions in Biology
• Why are there so many species? • Why are there so many species?
• Why do some species go extinct while
others thrive?
• Why do whales have lungs?
• Why do salamanders have more DNA than
humans?

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Questions in Biology Why do we study Evolution?

• Why do we age? Why do we get sicker as we • To understand health and medicine
get older? – Antibiotic resistance
• Why will your near field vision surely fail at
middle age, while your distance vision
remains consistent?
• Why do heart disease and cancer strike so
many older humans?

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 Why do we study Evolution?
• To improve crops and agriculture
– Artificial selection
– Genetic engineering
– Preserving species and genetic diversity
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Why do we study Evolution?
• To understand human behavior
– Why does sugar taste SOOO good that
we cannot stop eating it?
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Why do we study Evolution?
• To understand and conserve the
environment and natural resources
– Preservation of biological diversity
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Why do we study Evolution?
• Because all biological organisms, their
attributes, and their diseases are the result
of Evolution
– “Nothing in biology makes sense except
in light of Evolution.” -Dobzhansky
• Because its cool to know stuff
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Logistics
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iClicker
• We will use iClickers
regularly in Evolution
for participation and
quizzes
• Get an iClicker!!
• Register it on Moodle
• Physical iClicker only
- not the app
• We will start using
iClickers on
Thursday, January 24!
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Required materials
• Text: Evolution, by
Bergstrom and
Dugatkin, 2nd
Edition
– ISBN-13:
978-0-393-92592-0, Norton
& Co
– Note that they offer the text
as a more affordable eBook
• iClicker1 or iClicker2
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Quizzes
• In-class iClicker quizzes
– unannounced
• Moodle quizzes
– One for each chapter and associated lecture
• Quizzes open 5 days before the lecture
• Quizzes close at the start of the lecture
• You can attempt each quiz twice, best score counts
• 60 minutes for each attempt
– Quizzes for the first 3 chapters close at 2:30
on Tuesday!!!
– READ THE BOOK AND TAKE THE QUIZ
BEFORE THE LECTURE!!
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 Course webpage:
Contact and Office Hours
Moodle (moodle.njit.edu)
• Prof. Daniel Bunker
• You must have an NJIT UCID to log into
• Office hours: Moodle. If you are matriculated at NJIT you
– Thursdays, 1:30 - 2:30 pm should already have a UCID. If you are a
– By appointment via email Rutgers student you may already have one.
• Office location: Check here to find out or request one:
https://ist.njit.edu/ucid/
– 337B CKB
• Phone:
– (973) 642-7537
• Email:
– dbunker@njit.edu
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Attendance and Participation Exam Makeup Policy

• If you attend class you will likely do well in • Make up exams will be possible only with a
the course. If you do not attend class you doctor’s or a dean’s letter or with prior
will do poorly. approval. If you have a serious reason for
• Attendance and participation will be missing an exam, you must contact me
quantified by iClicker activity. BEFORE the scheduled exam.
• Late arrivals will not be tolerated.
• Several quizzes will be administered during
the semester. They will not be announced
beforehand. There are no makeups for
quizzes.

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 Academic Integrity Grading
• You are expected to abide by the NJIT Code of
Student Conduct <https://www5.njit.edu/doss/ Participation 10%
policies/conductcode/index.php> and the NJIT
University Code on Academic Integrity Quizzes and Workshops 20%
<https://www5.njit.edu/policies/sites/policies/
files/academic-integrity-code.pdf>, which you Exam 1 15%
agreed to do upon entering NJIT. Read these
documents!
Exam 2 15%
• I will not tolerate cheating – it is my Exam 3 15%
responsibility to protect my students from
cheaters and I will do so. Cheating during Final exam 25%
exams will not be tolerated, nor will any form
of plagiarism.
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Tentative grading scale Cellphone Usage

A 90-100
B+ 85-90
B 80-85
C+ 75-80
C 70-75
D 60-70
F 0-60

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 PART I: Overview, History of Evolutionary
thinking, and phylogenetic trees

An Overview of Evolutionary
Tues 22-Jan Read B&D Ch. 1
Biology
Early Evolutionary Ideas and Read B&D Ch. 1
Thurs 24-Jan
Darwin’s Insight and 2
Course Outline Tues 29-Jan Natural Selection
Workshop 1:
Read B&D Ch. 3
Thurs 31-Jan Review
Natural selection
Phylogeny and Evolutionary
Tues 5-Feb Read B&D Ch. 4
History
Thurs 7-Feb Inferring Phylogeny Read B&D Ch. 5
Tues 12-Feb Workshop 2: Phylogenies Review
Transmission Genetics and
Thurs 14-Feb Read B&D Ch. 6
Sources of Genetic Variation
Guest Lecture:
Tues 19-Feb
Dr. Phil Barden
Thurs 21-Feb Exam 1 Study

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PART II: Evolutionary Genetics PART III: History of Life on Earth

Tues 26-Feb The Gene.cs of Popula.ons Read B&D Ch. 7

Tues 2-Apr Major Transi.ons Read B&D Ch. 12
Thurs 28-Feb Evolu.on in Finite Popula.ons Read B&D Ch. 8

Tues 5-Mar Workshop 3: Gene.c driJ Review Thurs 4-Apr Species and Specia.on Read B&D Ch. 14

Thurs 7-Mar Evolu.on at Mul.ple Loci Read B&D Ch. 9

Tues 9-Apr Ex.nc.on and Evolu.onary Trends Read B&D Ch. 15
Tues 12-Mar Genome Evolu.on Read B&D Ch. 10

Thurs 14-Mar Workshop 4: Heritability Review Thurs 11-Apr Sex and Sexual Selec.on Read B&D Ch. 16
The Origin and Evolu.on of Early
Tues 26-Mar Read B&D Ch. 11
Life Tues 16-Apr Exam 3 Study
Thurs 28-Mar Exam 2 Study

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 PART IV: Evolutionary Interactions

Read B&D Ch.

Thurs 18-Apr The Evolu.on of Sociality
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Read B&D Ch. PART V: Comprehensive Final Exam
Tues 23-Apr Coevolu.on
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Read B&D Ch.
Thurs 25-Apr Human Evolu.on
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Read B&D Ch.
Tues 30-Apr Evolu.on and Medicine
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Thurs 2-May Review and in class ac.vi.es Review

Tues 7-May No class - Friday schedule

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BIOL 222 Evolution Exam Scantron

• Put your Name and NJIT ID on
– This time the Exam
–Sign the honor pledge
• A Brief Overview of Evolutionary Biology
• On the scantron:
• Course outline and logistics –Exam version (A, B, C, or D)
• Pretest –Name
– Next time –Subject: Bio222
• Chapter 1. An Overview of Evolutionary Biology –Date: 6 Sept 2017
–NJIT ID number
• Chapter 2. Early Evolutionary Ideas and Darwin’s
• Handing in your exam:
Insight
–Bring your bags
• Get an iClicker if you do not already have one! –Hand in exam and scantron
–Sign out
• Good luck!!!

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