300515 VO Speciation and coevolution (2009W)

The lecture course deals with processes of speciation and co-evolution in eukaryotes. An overview of principles and theories is complemented by detailed presentations of case studies, introducing current research projects at the focus "Evolution" of the Faculty of Life Sciences. Topics covered include: species concepts, isolating mechanisms, hybridization, polyploidy, asexual speciation, geographical parthenogenesis, theory of co-evolution, interactions between plants and herbivores, ant-plant interactions, pollination biology, mimicry, interactions between fungi, photoautotrophs and animals.