GATE EY Syllabus 2027: Overview

Ecology and Evolution is a multidisciplinary GATE paper that combines ecological principles, evolutionary biology, population genetics, quantitative methods, animal behaviour, biodiversity conservation and global environmental change.

The syllabus covers topics ranging from ecosystem structure and population dynamics to natural selection, molecular evolution, phylogenetics, behavioural ecology, conservation genetics, disease ecology and climate change.

GATE 2027 EY Syllabus at a Glance

Fundamental Concepts

• Abiotic and biotic components of ecosystems.
• Levels of biological organization.
• Individuals, populations, species, communities, ecosystems and biomes.
• Ecological niches.
• Habitats.
• Functional traits.
• Ecophysiology.
• Physiological adaptations.
• Homeostasis and acclimation.

Population Ecology

• Population dynamics.
• Population growth.
• Density-dependent population growth.
• Density-independent population growth.
• Metapopulation ecology.
• Age-structured populations.

Species Interactions

• Mutualism.
• Symbiosis.
• Commensalism.
• Competition.
• Parasitism.
• Predation.
• Two-species population models.
• Lotka-Volterra equations.
• Trophic levels.
• Direct and indirect species interactions.

Community Ecology

• Community assembly.
• Community structure.
• Ecological succession.
• Dispersal.
• Habitat and environmental filtering.
• Alpha, beta and gamma diversity.
• Species richness.
• Species evenness.
• Diversity indices.
• Relative abundance.
• Species-area relationships.
• Latitudinal and altitudinal diversity gradients.
• Theory of island biogeography.

Ecosystem Structure and Function

• Primary productivity.
• Secondary productivity.
• Food webs.
• Energy flow.
• Biogeochemical cycles.
• Carbon cycle.
• Nitrogen cycle.
• Ecosystem stability.
• Ecosystem resilience.
• Global biomes.
• Biogeographic zones.
• Flora and fauna of India.
• Biogeography of India.

Fundamentals of Evolution

• Lamarckism.
• Darwinism.
• Modern Synthesis.
• Variation.
• Heritability.
• Natural selection.
• Fitness.
• Adaptation.
• Stabilizing selection.
• Directional selection.
• Disruptive selection.

Diversity of Life

• Origin and history of life on Earth.
• Paleobiological evidence.
• Diversity and classification of life.
• Classical taxonomy.
• Systematics.
• Cladistics.

Life History Theory

• Allocation of resources.
• Life-history trade-offs.
• r/K selection.
• Semelparity.
• Iteroparity.

Evolutionary Interactions

• Coevolution.
• Mutualism.
• Evolutionary arms races.
• Cospeciation.
• Prey-predator interactions.
• Mimicry.
• Crypsis.
• Host-parasite interactions.

Population and Quantitative Genetics

• Origins of genetic variation.
• Mendelian genetics.
• Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium.
• Genetic drift.
• Selection using the one-locus two-alleles model.
• Population genetic structure.
• Panmixia.
• Gene flow.
• FST.
• Polygenic traits.
• Gene-environment interactions.
• Phenotypic plasticity.
• Heritability.
• Epistasis.
• Epigenetic inheritance.

Molecular Evolution and Phylogenetics

• Mutation rates.
• Molecular clocks.
• Neutral processes.
• Rates of evolution.
• Chromosomal evolution.
• Genome evolution.
• Hybridization.
• Ploidy.
• Introgression.
• Phylogenetic methods.
• Parsimony.
• Maximum likelihood.
• Bayesian methods.
• Phylogeography.

Macroevolution

• Species concepts.
• Speciation.
• Extinction.
• Adaptive radiation.
• Convergence.
• Biogeographic processes.
• Continental drift.

Mathematics and Statistics in Ecology

• Simple functions.
• Linear functions.
• Quadratic functions.
• Exponential functions.
• Logarithmic functions.
• Derivatives.
• Slope of a function.
• Permutations and combinations.
• Basic probability.
• Probability of random events.
• Sequences of events.
• Conditional probability.
• Binomial distribution.
• Normal distribution.
• Poisson distribution.
• Descriptive statistics.
• Mean and variance.
• Coefficient of variation.
• Confidence intervals.

Study Design and Statistical Methods

• Statistical hypothesis testing.
• Concept of p-value.
• Type I error.
• Type II error.
• t-test.
• Chi-square test.
• Correlation.
• Linear regression.
• Analysis of variance (ANOVA).

Classical Ethology and Sensory Ecology

• Proximate explanations of behaviour.
• Ultimate explanations of behaviour.
• Innate behaviour.
• Learnt behaviour.
• Neuroethology.
• Behavioural endocrinology.
• Modes of communication.
• Chemical communication.
• Visual communication.
• Movement and navigation.

Foraging and Reproduction

• Optimal foraging theory.
• Space use.
• Territoriality.
• Mating systems.
• Sexual selection.
• Sexual conflict.
• Runaway selection.
• Good-genes hypothesis.
• Handicap principle.
• Parental care.

Social Behaviour

• Costs and benefits of group living.
• Intraspecific competition.
• Scramble competition.
• Contest competition.
• Kin selection.
• Altruism.

Biodiversity and Conservation

• Biodiversity-ecosystem function relationships.
• Ecosystem services.
• Endemism.
• Biodiversity hotspots.
• Protected areas.
• Global conservation initiatives.
• Conference of the Parties (COP).
• International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
• Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
• Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).
• Conservation genetics.
• Genetic diversity.
• Inbreeding depression.
• DNA fingerprinting.
• DNA barcoding.

Disease Ecology and Evolution

• Epidemiology.
• Zoonotic diseases.
• Antibiotic resistance.

Global Change

• Causes of climate change.
• Consequences of climate change.
• Climate change adaptation.
• Climate change mitigation.
• Threats to biodiversity.
• Pollution.
• Habitat loss and habitat change.
• Invasive species.

Important Topics for GATE EY 2027

GATE Ecology and Evolution 2027 Preparation Strategy

Download GATE 2027 Ecology and Evolution Syllabus PDF

The complete official EY syllabus is available in the GATE 2027 syllabus document issued by IIT Madras.