Aims of the course
- To provide participants with a solid understanding of the basics of evolutionary biology – such that they can explain where new traits come from and how they spread.
- To help participants understand how cost-benefit optimality modelling can be used to understand why certain traits do or do not evolve.
- To show participants how evolutionary biology can be applied to solve real-world problems
Target audience
Anyone interested in science generally, and those interested in evolutionary biology in particular. No previous study of the subject is required.
Schedule (this course is completed entirely online)
Orientation Week: 7-13 July 2025
Teaching Weeks: 14 July-17 August 2025
Feedback Week: 18-24 August 2025
Teaching Week 1 - The origin of new traits
This week will introduce the terms genes, proteins and phenotypes to students, explaining how genes code for proteins and proteins build phenotypes. We will then introduce the concept of mutations generating new alleles, look at how mutations occur and explore the different possible consequences for mutation on the phenotype.
Learning objectives:
- To gain the ability to explain the relationship between genes and phenotype.
- To identify mutation as the source of all new traits in biology.
Teaching Week 2 - The spread of new traits
In this week, we will be introduced to the different modes of selection that can operate in natural populations and how can it affect fitness. We will look at positive and negative selection (one allele is better/worse than the rest) first. Then we will look at the mystery of why sometimes multiple alleles are maintained in populations – with sickle-cell anaemia offering a good example of balancing selection. The lecture closes by inviting students to consider whether the spread of all traits can really be explained by maximising the chance of offspring surviving – which is next week’s topic.
Learning objectives:
- To gain the ability to explain how natural selection can cause traits to spread.
- To explain the different effects of positive selection, negative selection and balancing selection.
Teaching Week 3 - More than just surviving
We have so far tried to explain the spread of traits by considering how they increase the probability of an organism surviving – just like Darwin did initially. This week we look at two alternative explanations for why a trait might spread: sexual selection and genetic drift. When considering sexual selection, students will learn about the difference between intrasexual and intersexual selection and how these can lead to the evolution of traits that increase mating success despite reducing survival probability. We will also look at the idea of non-adaptive evolution, and how sometimes an allele can increase in frequency despite no survival or reproductive benefits. Iris colour variation in humans is discussed as an example of genetic drift.
Learning objectives:
- To understand how sexual selection can lead to traits that do not enhance an organism’s chance of survival from spreading.
- To understand how genetic drift can cause non-adaptive evolution to occur.
Teaching Week 4 - The evolution of behaviour
Behavioural adaptation is the most complex and impressive form of adaptation. In this lecture we look at how the cost-benefit framework of optimally modelling, along with the concept of trade-offs, can let us understand the evolution of animal behaviour. We will look at a worked example – how high should a crow fly?. The concept of proximate and ultimate causation is also discussed here, helping students to see how why questions can be answered in biology.
Learning objectives:
- To explain how the cost-benefit framework of optimality modelling can be used to predict which behaviours do or do not evolve.
- To gain an understanding of the concept of trade-offs in evolutionary biology.
Teaching Week 5 - Applying evolutionary biology
Evolutionary biology is a fascinating science in its own right – but this final teaaching week helps learners see some of the practical applications of what they have been learning about. We look at evolutionary medicine (e.g. the Old Friends hypothesis, antibiotic resistance, tumour resistance to chemotherapy) and predicting responses to climate change. We gesture towards some of the many other applications possible – from reconstructing galaxy evolution to understanding the evolution of Red Riding Hood!
Learning objectives:
- To explain how evolutionary biology can be applied to solve real-world problems in medicine, conservation and the humanities.
Each week of an online course is roughly equivalent to 2-3 hours of classroom time. On top of this, participants should expect to spend roughly 2-3 hours reading material, etc., although this will vary from person to person.
While they have a specific start and end date and will follow a weekly schedule (for example, week 1 will cover topic A, week 2 will cover topic B), our tutor-led online courses are designed to be flexible and as such would normally not require participants to be online for a specific day of the week or time of the day (although some tutors may try to schedule times where participants can be online together for web seminars, which will be recorded so that those who are unable to be online at certain times are able to access material).
Virtual Learning Environment
Unless otherwise stated, all course material will be posted on the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) so that they can be accessed at any time throughout the duration of the course and interaction with your tutor and fellow participants will take place through a variety of different ways which will allow for both synchronous and asynchronous learning (discussion boards etc).
Certificate of participation
A Certificate of Participation will be awarded to participants who contribute constructively to weekly discussions and exercises/assignments for the duration of the course.
What our students say
“I can’t believe such an interesting course has come to an end so soon. It is a fabulous course which I enjoyed very much. In particular, I like reading the academic articles and your last list will surely occupy my time until well after Christmas.”
“There are so many interesting subjects in this course which may be interesting to laymen like me, like evolution of sex, speciation, coevolution, etc.”
