Evolutionary biology is about uncovering the past, understanding the present, and predicting the future of animals, plants, and microbes. Is also offers insight into how scientific ideas change through time. This course covers natural selection and adaptation, phylogeny, population genetics and structure, origins and extinction of species, domestication, and evolutionary medicine. Additional topics may include human evolution and evolutionary impacts, biogeography, and social evolution, as well as the intersections between evolution, ecology and development.

Some fish swimming today are hundreds of years old, whereas others complete their life cycle in two months! This course provides an introduction to the diversity of fishes found across the globe, including elasmobranchs (sharks, skates, and rays) and teleosts (bony fishes). Particular attention will be paid to fishes local to New Hampshire and New England. Students will learn about fish anatomy, physiology, and ecology. Prereq: BIOL 411, BIOL 412, or equivalent. Lab. (Offered in alternative years.) Special Fee.

Independent study in a topic related to Zoology, arranged by the student with a faculty sponsor. Enrollment by permission only.

Working under the direction of a faculty sponsor, the student plans and carries out independent research resulting in a written thesis. Limited to students entering their senior year; required for students in the honors program or working toward honors-in-major. Prereq: permission. A two-semester sequence. 2-4 credits each semester. IA (continuous grading) given at the end of the first semester.