ENV BIOL 3590 - Evolutionary Biology III

This course aims to provide advanced practical experience in systematics, evolution and the fossil record and the application of these to the study of the evolution and conservation of biodiversity. Students will use research approaches employed in a range of key topics in evolutionary biology and apply critical thinking through practical, project, and fieldwork. Practical and project topics may include: past climates and habitats and how they have shaped the present day Australian biota; evolutionary trees; morphological and molecular systematics, ancient DNA; molecular clocks; biogeography; extinction; and computational challenges for processing and interpreting large-scale genomic data in phylogeography. The course will include a compulsory 4-day field camp to study the extinct terrestrial biota of South Australia.