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Course Aim: This course covers the parallel stories of Earth history and biological evolution, with a focus on understanding of the geographic nature of genetic diversity. Beginning in Part 1 with an in-depth study of the mechanisms and analysis of population genetics, in Part 2 the narrative explores how geological and climatic forces have impacted on the survival and distribution of organisms.
Topics covered include: [Part 1] DNA polymorphism and molecular markers; Statistical methods and bioinformatics tools for analyzing gene flow and inferring historical biogeographic relationships; Gene flow and genetic structure in wild populations; Conservation genetics of endangered species; [Part 2] Plate-tectonics, climate cycles and glaciation; Historical biogeography and tracing migration using nuclear, mitochondrial and chloroplast DNA markers; The postglacial colonization of Europe by animals and plants; The biogeographic impact of continent collisions – recent migratory histories in Tropical Central America and Southeast Asia.
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MOLECULAR ECOLOGY AND BIOGEOGRAPHY
Semester 1
