Rutgers University • Evolutionary Genetics

In those notes you will get in depth information about molecular methods used to trace evolution (molecular markers, molecular phenotypes, genomic evolution), sequence evolution, the use of synonymous and non-synonymous sites, molecular clock, adaptive evolution, selection on codon usage. It also goes through gene families an new functions: divergent evolution, functional divergence.

We know speciation does happen but it’s an historical phenomenon so it is difficult to observe. We must rely on strong rigorous inference to understand speciation. It requires an interpretation of what has gone on in the past. Here we analyze the allopatric model, Mayr’s model of Peripatric speciation, Founder-Flush speciation, Sympatric speciation and Saltatory speciation.

Linkage Disequilibrium is the measure of the association between alleles on a chromosome. It’s the fundamental unit of observation for association mapping. Those notes explain the phenomenon of Linkage, Linked Selection and Genetic Hitchhiking and Genetic Draft.

With those notes, you will understand how we get from genotype to phenotype, the role of mutation and variation (types of mutation, Mendelian evolution) and the patterns of variation (natural selection, kinds of variation, how variation is measured).

Those notes guide you through how speciation is studied at the genetic level: measuring speciation at the genetic level, Haldane's rule, Dobzhansky-Muller model, finding Dobzhansky-Muller interaction, and finally we go over genes of speciation.

Many behaviours are entirely culturally transmitted or learned and may have little to do with genetics. For genetically influenced behaviors, we can treat them as we would treat any other genetically controlled trait of an organism: if there are genetically based differences in a behavior and these differences affect fitness then behaviours can evolve by natural selection. In those notes, we talk about behavioral variation within populations, between population, the evolution of behaviors, mode...

Genetic drift can dominate the evolutionary fate of small populations, and is an incredibly important force in the establishment of newly colonized, strongly isolated populations. In those notes, you will find in-depth explanations on the subject.

Lecture notes of Behavioral Evolution. Behavior is a fairly plastic phenotype and has both genetic and environmental components. It is important to figure out why and how particular behavioral repertoire are genetically programmed and can be advantageous to the individuals that carry it.

Three main topics when it comes to Evolutionary Biology. In those notes, you will fin information about mutation and evolution, mutation-selection balance, migration and gene flow, migration and selection. It includes mathematical formulas to explain the different models.

Through a quantitative description of the dynamics of genetic variation within and between populations, population genetics has established both a descriptive and predictive understanding of how DNA, proteins, and genomes should differ among individuals. Here you will find in depth information on: Genotype and allele frequencies, The Hardy-Weinberg Law, Heterozygosity. With examples, and mathematical formulas explained.