Speciation: How Do Species Evolve?

OEB 140 Subject & Catalog Number

Description

Speciation, or the origin of species, has been a controversial topic ever since Darwin's 1859 book. Even in the genomic era we are now experiencing, speciation is a frequent topic that demands attention. In this course, we will cover in approximate order:

• History of ideas in speciation; pre-Darwin, Darwin & Wallace, 1930-1940s, recent.
• What are species? Species concepts and species delimitation.
• What is needed to understand speciation? The population genetics of gene flow, and genetic divergence via mutation, drift, and selection
• The concept of reproductive isolation
• Brief introduction to coalescent theory and the multi-species coalescent
• The geography of speciation, including allopatric, parapatric, and sympatric speciation
• Ecological "races" and ecological speciation
• Behavioral divergence and mate choice, including "reinforcement"
• Hybrid inviability and hybrid sterility between species
• Idealized population genetic models of speciation
• Chromosomal evolution, genomic rearrangements, and speciation
• Speciation: caused by natural selection or by genetic drift?
• Beyond the species: macroevolution and diversification

Recommended Prep

None. However, LS1B Genetics, OEB 53 Evolutionary Biology, or equivalents may be helpful. Feel free to ask Instructor if in doubt. Instructor will cover relevant biology in case of lack of prior biology background.