BIO 414- Galapagos Academic Institute for the Arts and Sciences
Universidad San Francisco de Quito
Course: Evolutionary Biology
Professor: Carlos A. Valle, Ph.D.
Objective
The Galapagos Islands continue to be a "Garden of Eden" for understanding Darwin’s theory of
evolution. This course emphasizes the processes and mechanisms of evolution using the
Galapagos as a model textbook example. Why are there thirteen species of Darwin finches in the
Galapagos, rather than a single species like in the Cocos Islands? How do we explain their
current species distribution pattern throughout the Archipelago? Why is there so much
intraspecific variation despite the high levels of natural selection? Do species, races and other
categories make sense when confronting reality? Does it even matter in the end? Finches,
tortoises, mockingbirds, land-snails and a whole array of "galapagueian actors" have much to tell
us about the evolutionary process: natural selection, adaptation, random events, speciation and
more. Furthermore, the interplay of evolution and the current threats that the Galapagos face will
allow us to link the evolutionary concepts to crucial concerns and concepts in Conservation
Biology.
Course Contents
Population genetics, quantitative inheritance and heritability of traits, theory of inbreeding and
random genetic drift, founder effects, migration and gene flow. Natural selection and its
measurements. The levels of selection. Types of natural selection. Natural selection and
adaptation. Sexual selection. Neutral evolution. Speciation, species concepts, and intraspecific
variation (polymorphisms, geographic variation, subspecies, races and ecotypes). Reproductive
isolation and the origin of new species, modes of speciation, genetic theories of speciation.
Adaptive radiation.
Grading
Final Exam
40%
Fieldwork Report
30%
Paper presentation
15%
Homework/ exercises
15%
Prerequisites: Two basic courses in Biology/ Ecology
Textbook
Scott Freeman, and Jon Herron, 2003. Evolutionary Analysis, 3/E, Prentice Hall.
Reading List
Weiner, J. 1995. The Beak of the Finch. Alferd A. Knopf, Inc., New York.
Grant, P.R. 1984 (or more recent edition). Ecology and Evolution of Darwin’s Finches. Princeton
University Press, Princeton.
Several selected papers about evolutionary studies in Galapagos.