This module seeks to explain how the process of natural selection underpins the origins of biodiversity.
The module will address the origins of phenotypic diversity, focussing on where heritable phenotypic variation comes from and how it shapes the evolutionary process within species (microevolution).
Having established a basic model for understanding how evolution works, the second part of the module will explain the link between microevolution and evolution above the species level (macroevolution), overviewing the major evolutionary transitions.
The lectures will be supplemented with online resources. Students will be given guided reading.
The module will be assessed by two coursework assessments in semester 1.