Learning Outcomes:
On completion of this module students should be able to:
- Appreciate the centrality of evolution to all biology;
- Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the key processes and mechanisms of micro and macroevolution;
- Explain the principles of classification and phylogeny;
- Grasp the historical context of evolutionary theory;
- Explain how modern methods are used to reconstruct phylogenetic trees;
- Appreciate the importance of population genetic structure in evolutionary processes;
- Interpret the effect of population size, mutation, selection, and migration on population allele and genotype frequencies;
- Summarise the concept of the neutral and nearly-neutral theory of molecular evolution and explain how it relates to macroevolutionary processes;
- Explain to the lay-person key concepts in evolutionary biology.