Biol 417 (3 credits) (Evolutionary Ecology)
Advanced survey of the field of evolutionary ecology: the study of the ecological basis for the evolution of life histories, sex, mating strategies, and social behaviour.
Prerequisite: BIOL 308 and one of BIOL 202, STAT 230
To obtain a familiarity with the field of Evolutionary Ecology. To develop numerical, written, and critical thinking skills.
This course examines the evolutionary basis for a number of ecological phenomena. In the course of this examination, we will be exploring the theoretical and experimental approaches used in current investigations in this field.
After completing this course, students will be able to:
Weekly lectures. There are no midterm or final examinations for this course. Grading will be based on ca. weekly written assignments (details follow). Lecture slides will be provided to students the day after the lecture. All lectures will be recorded (subject to any technical glitches) and will be made available to students via Canvas.
There is no textbook for this course, but if students are interested in additional resources beyond the material covered in the lectures, the following textbooks are recommended:
Pianka, E. R. (1999). Evolutionary ecology. Benjamin Cummings. ISBN 0321042883. Available digitally via: https://books.google.ca/books/about/Evolutionary_ecology.html?id=giFL5bonGhQC&redir_esc=y
Cockburn, A. (1991). An introduction to evolutionary ecology. Wiley-Blackwell. ISBN 0632027290. Available via UBC libraries: http://resolve.library.ubc.ca/cgi-bin/catsearch?bid=832278
Stearns, S. C., & Hoekstra, R. F. (2000). Evolution, an introduction. Oxford University Press. Available via UBC libraries: http://resolve.library.ubc.ca/cgi-bin/catsearch?bid=3558025
| Paper Summaries (6 of 8) | 30% | See schedule below |
| Essays (3) | 48% | See schedule below |
| Research Proposal | 22% | Week 13 |
| Total | 100% |
Final grades will be based on the evaluations listed above and will be assigned according to the standardized grading system outlined in the UBC Okanagan Calendar.
Note: final grades may be scaled at the discretion of the instructor. Scaling will be consistently applied across all students.
Beginning the second week of the semester, students will be asked to write a short summary of a research paper that focuses on an area of evolutionary ecology. Papers will be assigned by the instructor and provided to students in advance. The paper summaries should be no longer than one page (single spaced using a 12-point font). References should be included with the report but do not count towards the total length. The following points should be covered (not necessarily in the order given):
Submission: It is expected that the assignment be submitted via Canvas as a word document or PDF (your choice). Paper summaries submitted by email will not be accepted unless agreed upon beforehand with the instructor. There are 8 assignments in total, but students only have to submit 6 of them. The choice of which assignments to submit is their. If a student chooses to submit all 8, only the best 6 will count towards your final grade.
Grading: Each summary will be marked on composition (i.e., spelling and grammatical competence), comprehension & logic, clarity, and coverage of points i)-v) listed above, and will be worth a total of 5% of your final grade. Late assignments will have 5% deducted per day that they are overdue and will receive a grade of zero if more than 20 days late without a valid reason.
Students will be asked to complete three written essay assignments throughout the course (schedule below). These assignments are designed to provide students with an opportunity to consolidate what they have learned in the lectures and apply this knowledge to topics in evolutionary ecology of their own choosing. For each of these essays, students will receive a topic or question – both Canvas and the course web page will host the essay questions. Students will then be expected to write an essay addressing that topic or question using the material covered in class, as well as additional sources from the scientific literature. Students can expect the material covered in the lectures will provide sufficient information for structuring the essay around the assigned topic but are also expected to expand beyond the material covered in the lectures. The use of figures is permitted, but do not count towards the length requirements. The skills gained by completing each essay will help students learn how to think critically about core evolutionary ecology concepts and clearly communicate their ideas in written format.
Submission: Essays are to be submitted as word documents or PDFs (your choice) and uploaded to canvas before the due date. The essays should be a minimum of five pages in length and maximum of seven pages (double spaced using a 12-point font). Include references to all necessary literature in a format of your choosing. References must be included, but do not count towards the total length.
Grading: Each essay will be graded based on the pre-provided rubric, and will be worth a total of 16% of your final grade. Late essays will have 5% deducted per day that they are overdue and will receive a grade of zero if more than 20 days late without a valid reason.
Some useful guidance on writing essays can be found here:
https://www.oxbridgeessays.com/blog/how-to-structure-an-essay/ https://www.scribbr.com/category/academic-essay/ https://www.grammarly.com/blog/essay-writing/
Students will work in groups (minimum 2 maximum 4) to prepare a research proposal that will review a topic in evolutionary ecology and outline a plan to address a research question that would advance the field. Students will also have to prepare a budget with a maximum value of $500,000 CAD. The proposal should be comprised of the following sections:
Title page: Must contain at minimum the project title, team member names and student identification numbers, and submission date. Does not count towards the length limit.
Introduction: Provide a description of the system on which the proposed project will focus, citing all relevant literature. Explain what big picture question you are addressing, what work has been done on this topic to date, and why the system you have chosen to work with is a good model for tackling this research question. Length: ca. 3 pages.
Objectives: Outline of the key objective(s) the proposed research is aimed at addressing. Provide details on how these objectives will provide information on the big picture question you have set up in the introduction. Length: ca. 1/2 page.
Team: Describe the research team and how each person’s strengths will contribute to achieving the overarching research goal. Length: ca. 1/2 page.
Methods: Describe the experimental setup, how the data would be collected and what variables are included. There should be enough information that anyone can use your methods section to carry out the proposed research. Length: ca. 4 pages.
Significance of the proposed research: Describe the significance of the study to the field of evolutionary ecology. For instance, what new insights/information will this study yield, what question would it put to rest, how it will benefit the field. Simply put, convince the reader why this work needs to be conducted. Length: ca. 1/2 page.
Project timeline: A visual depiction of the project timeline (e.g., a Gantt chart or similar) including important milestones, as well as information on who will be assigned to each portion of the project. Length: ca. 1/2 page.
References: Include references to all necessary literature.
In addition, the students must prepare a budget detailing how the available funds will be used. The budget should be prepared using the pre-provided excel spreadsheet. Important items to consider when preparing the budget include (but are not limited to):
The cost of personnel (MSc student = $17,500/year, PhD student = $21,000/year, Postdoctoral fellow, $50,000/year, field/lab technicians = variable).
The cost of Equipment (variable).
The cost of publishing manuscripts (ca. $5,000 CAD/paper).
Conference and fieldwork travel to collect data and share findings.
University overhead (the university will take 25% of your total budget as overhead to cover operational costs).
Submission: Research proposals are to be submitted as word documents or PDFs (your choice) and uploaded to canvas before the due date. Research proposals have a maximum length of 10 pages (double spaced using a 12-point font). Figures can be used throughout and are encouraged. References should be included with the proposals but do not count towards the total length.
Grading: The research proposal will be graded out of 100 and will be worth a total of 20% of your final grade. Late assignments will have 5% deducted per day that they are overdue and will receive a grade of zero if more than 20 days late without a valid excuse.
Late assignments will have 5% deducted per day that they are overdue and will receive a grade of zero if more than 20 days late without a valid excuse. However, students can submit one assignment without any late penalty. Students can submit the selected assignment at any time before the final submission of grades, irrespective of when it was originally due and can still receive full grades.
(Approximate schedule of topics covered in lectures)
| Week | Lecture Topics | Assignment Schedule |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Course Intro; Scope of Evolutionary Ecology; Selection and Adaptation | No assignments due this week |
| 2 | Studying Evolutionary Ecology: Experimentation; Comparative Methods; Mathematical Models | Paper summary 1 (5%) |
| 3 | Meteorology; The Habitat Template; Biogeography | Paper summary 2 (5%) |
| 4 | The Ecological Niche; Competition; Specialists vs. Generalists; Environmental Change | Essay 1: Biogeography and the habitat template (16%) |
| 5 | Specialising on Environmental Change: Migration, Dormancy, Energetics | Paper summary 3 (5%) |
| 6 | Specialising on Change: Burrowing, Correlative Effects; Stochasticity and Space Use | Paper summary 4 (5%) |
| 7 | The Ecology of Sex: Costs and Benefits; Ecology of Sex, Males and Females | Essay 2: Specialising on Environmental Change (16%) |
| 8 | The Ecology of Sex: Sex Ratios; Sexual Selection, Mating Systems | Paper summary 5 (5%) |
| 9 | Socio-ecology: Spatial Groups; Predator Avoidance; Information Sharing; | Paper summary 6 (5%) |
| 10 | Socio-Ecology: Resource Dispersion; Philopatry and Delayed Dispersal; Badger Sociality | Essay 3: Sociality (16%) |
| 11 | Applied Evolutionary Ecology: Ecological and Evolutionary Traps; Road Ecology | Paper summary 7 (5%) |
| 12 | Applied Evolutionary Ecology: Road Ecology; Climate Change | Paper summary 8 (5%) |
| 13 | Scope of evolutionary ecology revisited | Research proposal (22%) |