Final Exam Study Guides

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• Final exam is comprehensive; emphasizes concepts over specific details.
• New material between Midterm III and Final Exam is heavily emphasized.

Exam Content Overview

Midterm I

1. Major Topics
   • Skills: Interpreting phylogenies.
   • Competency: Defending/clarifying misconceptions about evolution.
   • Understanding patterns providing evidence of common ancestry.
   • Theme: "The Danger of the Single Story" - scaling from single stories to many stories.
     • Examples: One gene -> many genes, Populations -> species, etc.
     • Refuting logical mistakes (e.g., single gene causing trait like “gay gene”).
   • Patterns of evolution: Molecular and morphological data.
   • Historical evolutionary patterns: Testable through examples like Tiktaalik.
   • Phylogeny: Representation and testing.
   • Earth's timeline: Multicellular life, major extinction events.
   • Darwin’s four postulates: Core of evolutionary process.
   • Misconceptions: Evolutionary theories vs. laws, human evolution from chimpanzees, teleology.

Midterm II

1. Modern Synthesis
   • Post-Darwin understanding of evolution.
   • Blending vs. Mendelian inheritance.
   • Genetic variation and its translation into phenotypes.
   • Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium: Allele/genotype frequencies, assumptions, deviations.
   • Genetic drift: Random sampling, role in evolution, connection to neutral theory.
   • Studying natural selection in the wild.
   • Flavors of Natural Selection: Identifying and organizing different types.
   • Polygenic/quantitative traits: Genetic correlations, constraints.
   • The Breeder’s Equation: Heritability and natural selection.

Material Between Midterm II and Final Exam

1. Hardy-Weinberg and Human Evolution

   • Fisher’s geometric model: Evolutionary solution finding.

2. Kin Selection and Levels of Selection

   • Inclusive fitness theory: Altruism evolution.
   • George Price and multi-level selection.
   • Major transitions: Group selection overpowering individual selection.

3. Game Theory in Evolution

   • Evolutionary stable strategies (ESS): Frequency-dependent selection.
   • Evolution of cooperation and sex.

Kin Selection and Levels of Selection

• Glossary: Inclusive fitness, Hamilton’s rule, altruism, group selection, etc.
• History: Cooperation vs. conflict.
• Naive group selection: Issues and arguments against.
• Hamilton’s rule and inclusive-fitness theory: Coefficient of relatedness.
• Multi-level selection: George R. Price's contributions.
• Major transitions: Group selection, cancer in group selection.

Game Theory and Social Behavior

• Terminology: Hawk-Dove game, ESS, payoff matrix.
• Game theory: Frequency-dependent selection.
• Hawk-Dove game and prisoner’s dilemma: Outcomes and strategies.
• Iterated prisoner’s dilemma: Mixed strategies and winning characteristics.

Sexual Selection and Evolution

• Terminology: Anisogamy, sexual dimorphism, Bateman gradients, etc.
• Evolution of sex: Costs and benefits.
• Sexual dimorphism: Evolutionary challenges and mechanisms.
• Bateman gradients and mating systems: Implications for sexual selection.
• Flavors of sexual selection: Direct/indirect benefits, runaway selection.

Evo-Devo: Adaptation and Evolutionary Novelty

• Terms: Cis-regulatory elements, HOX genes, heterochrony, neoteny.
• Transcription factors: Role in body patterning and evolution of new body plans.
• Canalization and heterochrony: Importance in evolution.

Macroevolution and Human Evolution

• Diversification vs. divergence: Macroevolutionary time studies.
• Adaptive radiations vs. living fossils: Ecological opportunity, key innovations.
• Extinction: Macroevolutionary Red Queen, background vs. mass extinction.
• Human evolution: Major events, regional continuity vs. replacement hypotheses.

Additional Topics

• Life History Evolution and Trade-offs: Resource allocation and optimality theory.
• Coevolution: Reciprocal selection, species interactions.
• Practice Problems: Various evolutionary concepts and scenarios.

Study Recommendations

• Analyze payoff matrices for ESS.
• Review graphs for each type of selection.

This study guide focuses on summarizing key points from the course material, providing a comprehensive reference for final exam preparation.