BY 490 – Reading 1



Evolutionary Biology Topics for Papers

I’ve asked you to develop a research paper or presentation examining the current state of knowledge in a particular field of evolutionary biology. Instruction will be provided to assist you in this task. Regardless what format you choose, any project should include a thorough bibliography of your chosen topic. The list of potential topics is virtually endless. Some include:

Island biogeography theory and evolution on islands

Sociobiology and the evolution of societial structure in insects

Burgess shale fauna

Stromatolites

Altruism and its evolutionary significance

Directed evolution

Punctuated equilibrium

Mass extinctions (or one specific extinction if you like)

The evolution of particular diseases and/or evolutionarily based responses to them

Heterozygous advantage and genetic disorders

Darwin's finches

Darwin and the voyage of the Beagle

The search for the structure of DNA

The evolution of symbiotic relationships (mutualism, parasitism, etc.)

Mimicry

The evolution and the significance of sexual reproduction

Current ideas about the origin of life

Group selection theory

Random genetic drift and the evolutionary consequences

What happened to the dinosaurs?

Extinction as

Adaptations to extreme conditions (high salinity, high temperature, high pressure, etc.)

The evolution of sex change in animals

The evolutionary significance of geothermal vents

Species concepts and speciation

Ring species

The evolution of migration patterns of _________________ (salmon, sea turtles, etc.)

Clonal selection theory

“Big steps in evolution” (e.g., the transition from water-dwelling fish to terrestrial amphibians)

“Eve hypothesis” and mitochondrial DNA

Founder effect

Balanced polymorphism

Coevolution between plants and pollinators

Coevolution of predator and prey

The evolution of flight

The evolutionary history of:

circulatory system

respiratory system

excretory system

eyes

etc.

The evolution of a particular animal or plant group (i.e., amphibians, birds, mammals)

Examples of convergent evolution

Examples of adaptive radiation

MANY OTHER TOPICS WOULD BE EQUALLY SUITABLE. If something occurs to you that you are interested in , just ask.

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