Evolution

lboe2111  2020-2021  Louvain-la-Neuve

Evolution
Due to the COVID-19 crisis, the information below is subject to change, in particular that concerning the teaching mode (presential, distance or in a comodal or hybrid format).
5 credits
54.0 h
Q1
Teacher(s)
Dehoux Jean-Paul; Hance Thierry; Nieberding Caroline (coordinator); Rezsohazy René; Soumillion Patrice (compensates Rezsohazy René); Van Doninck Karine; Wesselingh Renate;
Language
English
Main themes
The course consists of two major parts, dealing with macroevolution and microevolution, respectively. The first part will deal with the appearance of life, the evolution of reproductive systems, autotrophy/heterotrophy, organel formation, endosymbiosis, the main innovations in plant and animal evolution and the origin of man and cultural evolution. The major scientific theories (catastrophism, darwinism, neodarwinism, synthetic theory, neutralism, selfish gene, punctuated equilibrium, complexity and chaos) wil be explained and discussed. The second part deals with selection, adaptation and evolution on shorter time scales, and will discuss various subjects, such as genetic vatiation, heritability, natural and sexual selection, kin selection, evolution of sociality, game theory, life history theory, mating systems, aging and senescence.
Aims

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :

1 Evolution is a constantly changing field due to the variety of sometimes contradictory theories. Students will acquire the basic knowledge needed to understand the main theories. They should be able to discuss these theories, to formulate hypotheses, discuss them and to make a synthesis. During a public seminar they will present and discuss an aspect of evolution from different points of view. Articles on microevolution will be discussed in class, and students will learn how to critically read an article.
 
Teaching materials
  • Diaporamas des cours théoriques sous forme de fichiers pdf, disponibles sur Moodle
Faculty or entity
BIOL


Programmes / formations proposant cette unité d'enseignement (UE)

Title of the programme
Sigle
Credits
Prerequisites
Aims
Master [120] in Biology of Organisms and Ecology

Master [60] in Biology