Syllabus Biol 4181 Population Genetics, Fall 2015
Class meetings: Tu Th 1-2:30, 361 McDonnell
Instructor:
Office:
Office Hours:
Email
Phone:
Dr. David Queller
308 Wilson
M 3-4, F 10-11
[email protected]
314-935-3528 (don’t leave message – use email for messages)
T.A.’s:
e-mail:
Office hours:
Jordan Teischer,
[email protected]
Thurs 12:30-1:00 McDonnell 312
Thurs 2:30-4:00 Life Sciences 106/7
Liron Ganel
[email protected]
Tues 10:30-12:30 Life Sciences 106/7
Prerequisite: Biol 2970 or equivalent.
The textbook is Population Genetics and Microevolutionary Theory by Alan Templeton. The reading
assignments given below refer to chapters in this book.
Additional readings may be assigned during the semester and would be placed on reserve in the
library or posted on Blackboard (https://bb.wustl.edu). Also on reserve in Olin Library as
alternative sources of information are three other textbooks: (1) Principles of Population Genetics by
Hartl and Clark, (2) Population Genetics, by Hamilton and (3) Genetics of Populations by Hedrick.
These are sometimes simpler than the Templeton book so they could help in rough spots.
Tentative schedule and topics (exam dates fixed, not tentative)
DATE
TOPIC
8-25
Introduction and Hardy-Weinberg
8-27
Introduction and Hardy-Weinberg
9-1
Systems of Mating
9-3
Genetic Drift
9-8
Neutrality and Molecular Evolution
9-10
Coalescence
9-15
Gene Flow and Subdivision
9-17
Gene Flow and Subdivision
9-22
Separating History from Gene Flow
9-24
Quantitative genetics - means
9-29
Exam 1 through Sept 22
10-1
Quantitative genetics- variances
10-6
The Unmeasured Genotype Approach
10-8
The Measured Genotype Approach
10-13
Measures of Fitness & Constant Fitness Models
10-15
Selection on Quantitative Traits
10-20
Fisher’s Fundamental Theorem
10-22
Interactions of selection with other evolutionary forces
10-27
Interactions of selection with other evolutionary forces
10-29
The Unit of Selection
11-3
Exam 2 through Oct 22
11-5
Targets of selection below the individual
11-10
Sexual and Frequency Dependent Selection
11-12
Kin Selection
11-17
More kin selection
11-19
Environmental Heterogeneity
11-24
Coevolution
12-1
Life History Evolution
12-3
Summary, special topic
READINGS
1-2
1-2
3
4
5
5
6
6
7
8
8
9-10
9-10
11
11
11
12
12
13
13
13
13
13
14
14
15
12-10
Final Exam 10:30-12:30- cumulative but emphasis on last section
Lecture topics could shift a bit if we get ahead or behind, but exam dates will remain fixed and
exams will cover material up to that date, but not including the previous lecture.
Assignments and Grading
Lecture powerpoints, problems sets etc. will be posted on the course Blackboard site
(https://bb.wustl.edu).
The TA’s will lead discussion/review sessions (time and place to be announced), and lead
working groups on problem sets on an as-needed basis.
Your grade will be determined by
• Problem sets (25%), there will be 6-8 of these. We will average the percentage grade on
these, after dropping your lowest score.
• 2 hourly examinations (20% each). All exams are closed-book but you will be provided
with a sheet of equations. Before the first exam, we will provide a past exam so you can
see what they look like.
• Final exam (35%), cumulative but with most emphasis (more than half) on material after
the second hourly.
Exam regrades:
If you would like a question to be regraded, you will need to put your rationale for requesting a
regrade in writing and turn it in with the exam to one of the TAs. Be advised we will regrade the
entire exam (this could result in loss of points, though the intent is to be fair, not punitive). You
will have one week from the time your corrected exam is returned to ask for a regrade.
Academic Integrity Policy:
This course will be governed by the Washington University policy on academic integrity. All
students should review the policy at the following website:
http://www.wustl.edu/policies/undergraduate-academic-integrity.html
Violations will be reported to the academic integrity officer of Arts and Sciences.
How to do well in population genetics:
There are no guarantees but these steps should help. The first step is to make sure this is a course that
you can like. The biggest difference between this course and most biology courses is the amount of math
in this one. It is not generally hard math (algebra and a bit of statistics, very little calculus); the trick is in
matching the math up to the biology. It’s a bit like physics in that sense, so if you hated physics, you may
not like this course. But it is about evolution, which is great subject. If you want to study evolution with
less math, consider Biol 3501.
Population genetics is basically a lecture-test course, with lots of problem sets. It is very important to
do the problems sets for two reasons: they contribute a significant portion of your grade and they prepare
you for the exams. More than just doing the problems, you should engage in them. Don’t copy from
friends. Don’t just rush through at the last moment, maybe after having squeezed some hints out of the
TA’s. It’s OK to talk to your friends and the TA’s about problem sets but do it only after you have
struggled. Let yourself make mistakes because it’s by far the best way to learn.
Read the textbook, ideally before the relevant class lecture and then again later. Again, engage in it.
Make sure you know what it is saying in every paragraph and go back if you don’t. It is not an easy read so
you have to give yourself time. To get the overall flow of the chapter, pay attention to headings,
introductory paragraphs, and topic sentences. To make sure you get the basic concepts you need, pay
attention the boldfaced terms. If the book refers to an earlier equation, go back and look at that equation
and understand how it connects. When the book refers to something in the Appendix, look it up the
Appendix unless you already understand. There are additional problems with answers in the back of
textbook, so that’s a great way to study (again give the problems a serious try before you check the
answers).
Lectures. The lectures follow the book fairly closely but more for some chapters than others. They
will usually contain some different material, sometimes a lot. The powerpoints will be posted on
Blackboard before each lecture (but perhaps only an hour or two before, because I continue to update
them). They do not contain all the information in the lecture – some slides are simply visuals to illustrate
points that will be made verbally. So you will want to take notes. Many students find it useful to take
notes on their computer but note that population genetics does not mix well with Facebook, emails, or cat
videos. Best to turn all those applications off entirely. (You know it’s true! If not, check out the literature,
for example search in Google Scholar for “lectures facebook email multitasking”. The first hit is an
academic paper “No A 4 U; the relationship between multitasking and academic performance” and all of
the ones I checked had similar messages).
Exams. The most important thing is come prepared. Study all along, not just the night before. Use the
tricks you have learned over the years; do the easy problems first; show your work for partial credit; try to
write something useful down even if you don’t know the answer. Never panic; it doesn’t help, and if you
came prepared and are having difficulty, probably others are having difficulty too. Sometimes the averages
are low, so grades will be curved.
Washington University is committed to providing accommodations and/or services to students with
documented disabilities. Students who are seeking support for a disability or a suspected disability should
contact Disability Resources at 935-4153. Disability Resources is responsible for approving all disabilityrelated accommodations for WU students, and students are responsible for providing faculty members with
formal documentation of their approved accommodations at least two weeks prior to using those
accommodations. I will accept Disability Resources VISA forms by email and personal delivery. If you
have already been approved for accommodations, I request that you provide me with a copy of your VISA
within the first two weeks of the semester.