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Vertebrate Evolution Bi/CNS 158 |
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Fridays 2-4 pm, Beckman Behavior Biology 24 (Note: First class will be in Broad 200)
Professor: John Allman (cebus@caltech.edu)
Teaching Assistants: Soyoung Park (spark@caltech.edu) and Tobin Ivy (tivy@caltech.edu)
Textbooks: The Book of Life by Stephen Jay Gould, available at Amazon, and Evolving Brains by John Allman (download PDF at http://allmanlab.caltech.edu/EB/Allman_Evolving_Brains.pdf)
Grading: There will be a midterm (40%) and a final examination (60%).
Class Homepage: http://allmanlab.caltech.edu/biCNS158.html
April 4: The Scientific Background for the Study of Evolution in Geology, Comparative Anatomy, Biogeography and Demography ( Note: This class will be held in Broad 200.) Download lecture slides
Allman, Evolving Brains, Chapters 1 and 3
The Book of Life, pp. 3-63
De Robertis EM, Sasai Y (1996) A common plan for dorsoventral patterning in Bilateria. Nature, 380:37-40.
April 11: The Cambrian Explosion Download lecture slides
Erwin DH, Laflamme M, Tweedt SM, Sperling EA, Pisani D, Peterson KJ (2011) The Cambrian conundrum: Early divergence and later ecological success in the early history of animals. Science, 334:1091-1097. Shubin N, Tabin C, Carrol, S (2009) Deep homology and the origins of evolutionary novelty. Nature, 457:818-823.
April 18: Fish, Amphibia and Reptiles: the Evolution of Eyes and Limbs Download lecture slides
Allman, Evolving Brains, Chapter 4
The Book of Life, pp. 65-167
Fernald RD (2006) Casting a genetic light on the evolution of eyes. Science, 313:1914-1918
Hartline DK, Colman DR (2007) Rapid conduction and the evolution of giant axons and myelinated fibers. Curr. Biol. 17:R29-R35. April 25: Mammals and Birds Download lecture slides
Allman, Evolving Brains, Chapter 5
The Book of Life, pp. 169-217
Brown S (2008) Top billing for platypus at end of evolution tree. Nature, 453:138-139.
Warren WC, et al (2008) Genome analysis of the platypus reveals unique signatures of evolution. Nature, 453:175-183. Midterm exam will be e-mailed to you on April 25 and will be due on May 2. Midterms should be sent to Soyoung Park (spark@caltech.edu).
May 2: Primate Evolution Download lecture slides
Allman, Evolving Brains, Chapter 6
May 9: Evolution of Life Histories: Brains, Energy and Time Download lecture slides and Siamang audio
Allman, Evolving Brains, Chapter 7
Allman JM, Hasenstaub A (2000) Caretaking, risk-seeking and survival in anthropoid primates, Research and Perspectives in Longevity; Sex and Longevity: Sexuality, Gender, Reproduction, Parenthood. Robine, Kirkwood and Allard (Eds.). Springer, 75-89.
Navarrete A, van Schaik CP, Isler K (2011) Energetics and the evolution of human brain size. Nature, 480:91-94.
Reader SM, Hager Y, Laland KN (2011) The evolution of primate general and cultural intelligence. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B, 66:1017-1027.
Schradin C, Anzenberger G (1999) Prolactin, the hormone of paternity. News in Physiological Sciences, 14:223-230.
Sol D, Székely T, Liker A, Lefebvre L (2007) Big-brained birds survive better in nature. Proc. R. Soc. B, 274:763-769.
May 23: Evolution of Hominids Download lecture slides
The Book of Life, pp. 219-251
Gilad Y, Wiebe V, Przeworski M, Lancet D, and Pääbo S (2004) Loss of olfactory receptor genes coincides with the acquisition of full trichromatic vision in primates, PLoS Biology, 2:120-125.
Mombaerts P (2001) The human repertoire of odorant receptor genes and pseudogenes, Annual Review Genomics Hum Genetics, 2:493-510 (2001)
May 30: Human Evolution and the Domestication of Plants and Animals Download lecture slides and Framingham Heart Study animation
Hallenthal G (2014) A genetic atlas of human admixture history. Science, 343:747-751.
Pickersgill, B (2007) The domestication of plants in the Americas. Annals of Botany, 100:925-940.
Prüfer et al (2004) The complete genome sequence of a Neanderthal from the Altai Mountains. Nature, 505:43-50.
Final Exam will be emailed to you on June 4 and must be returned to Soyoung Park (spark@caltech.edu) no later than Wednesday, June 4 for seniors and grad students. Finals for everybody else must be returned no later than Wednesday, June 11.