Understanding how environmental and genetic variation interact to generate phenotypic variation within and among species is the cornerstone of understanding how adaptations evolve. In addition, the proximate and ultimate causes of animal diversity rest on the interaction between environment and genes as mediated through the phenotype of the animal. Evolutionary ecologists generally take three approaches to explore this interaction. These follow the three themes associated with the laboratory portion of this course:

1) LABORATORY: (The frog Bombina orientalis) studying the relationship between an animal and its environment in a controlled, laboratory, environment, using techniques of experimental design;

2) FIELD: (Gasterosteus, Ensatina, and Taricha) examining and experimenting with naturally occurring variation in the field (comparative experiments); and

3) SIMULATION: (RAMAS: Population Viability Analysis) using quantitative analytic and computer simulation techniques in investigating theoretical models developed from both deductive and inductive scientific methodology.

Variation is central to all these themes and an understanding of how to think and work with variation is integral to all aspects of this course. If molecular genetics can be thought of as one important component that adds to a full knowledge of an understanding of organismic evolution then statistical analysis of environmentally and genetically induced phenoypic variation can be thought of as a complementary integral component.