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BIOL 369 Sex and Evolution Units: 3.00
Why sex? The evolutionary origins and consequences of sex and sexual reproduction. Topics include costs and benefits of sexual reproduction, the evolution and coevolution of sexes, gametes and genitalia, mating systems, gender differences and sex determination throughout the biotic world.
Learning Hours: 122 (36 Lecture, 8 Tutorial, 18 Online Activity, 60 Private Study)
Requirements: Prerequisite (BIOL 102/3.0 and BIOL 103/3.0 and 3.0 units from [BCHM 218/3.0; BIOL 200/3.0; BIOL 201/3.0*; BIOL 202/3.0*; BIOL 205/3.0, or BIOL 206/3.0]).
Recommended BIOL 206/3.0.
Offering Faculty: Faculty of Arts and Science
Course Learning Outcomes:
- Apply theories seeking to explain the evolution of complex secondary sexual characters and mating behaviours to examples from nature.
- Compare and evaluate the nature and quality of media coverage of recent scientific discoveries related to the evolution of sex and resultant processes such as disease / parasitism, competition for mates, and coevolution.
- Contrast competing theories for the evolutionary advantages conferred by sexual reproduction and the origins of distinct mating types.
- Explain the consequences of sharing a gene pool with other organisms (the benefits and costs) at the level of the individual, the population and the species.
- Interpret, explain, and contextualize recent research findings published in the primary scientific literature in accessible written assignments.
- Recognize the paradoxical origins of sexual reproduction and its central role in the evolution of multi-celled life on earth.