Prerequisite: ENV 502 or permission of the instructor. (1 credit)
This course will introduce the theory and practice of molecular genetics as it addresses
questions at the level of individuals within populations. The course will examine the
evolutionary forces affecting genetic variation within populations and how this variation can be
used as a tool for determining individual identity, parentage and other degrees of relatedness
between individuals within a population. Genetic methods for identifying individuals will
be compared to non-genetic methods. Molecular techniques that are especially useful to
conservation biology and behavioral ecology will be introduced in the laboratory, and their
applications will be extensively discussed.