GATE Syllabus for Ecology & Evaluation includes the subject topics, Engineering Mathematics and general aptitude. Most of the questions are asked from core subject and rest of the questions are asked from Mathematics & general aptitude. The exam will take place from February 01, 02, 08 and 09, 2020 in multiple sessions.

• The syllabus is based on the topics studied at graduation level.
• The question paper consists of 65 questions worth 100 marks.​
• GATE 2020 will be of 100 marks and candidates need to solve the paper in three hours.

Direct link to download GATE Ecology and Evolution (EY) syllabus PDF 

Those candidates who are going to appear in GATE 2020 examination are advised to check the complete syllabus of Ecology and Evolution. In this article, we are discussing the paper pattern and complete syllabus for Ecology & Evaluation subject.

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GATE 2020 Syllabus for Ecology & Evaluation Syllabus

The syllabus of GATE exam is based on graduation level. The syllabus of every paper is quite different but Engineering Mathematics section is the same in most of the papers. This section will carry 15% of questions in the exam. Applicants are advised to check complete syllabus before starting the preparation of exam. 

GATE Syllabus for Ecology and Evaluation comprises of four sections. The following sections with their sub topics are given below:

• Ecology
• Evolution
• Mathematics and Quantitative Ecology
• Behavioural Ecology

Chapter 1 – Ecology

Population ecology; metapopulation dynamics; growth rates; density independent growth; density dependent growth; niche concept.

Species interactions: Plant-animal interactions; mutualism, commensalism, competition and predation; trophic interactions; functional ecology; ecophysiology; behavioural ecology.

Community ecology: Community assembly, organization and evolution; biodiversity: species richness, evenness and diversity indices; endemism; species-area relationships; Ecosystem structure, function and services; nutrient cycles; biomes; habitat ecology; primary and secondary productivity; invasive species; global and climate change; applied ecology.

Chapter 2 – Evolution

Origin, evolution and diversification of life; natural selection; levels of selection.

Types of selection (stabilizing, directional etc.); sexual selection; genetic drift; gene flow; adaptation; convergence; species concepts; Life history strategies; adaptive radiation; biogeography and evolutionary ecology;

Origin of genetic variation; Mendelian genetics; polygenic traits, linkage and recombination; epistasis, gene-environment interaction; heritability; population genetics; Molecular evolution; molecular clocks; systems of classification: cladistics and phenetics; molecular systematics; gene expression and evolution.

Chapter 3 – Mathematics and Quantitative Ecology

Mathematics and statistics in ecology; Simple functions (linear, quadratic, exponential, logarithmic etc); concept of derivatives and slope of a function; permutations and combinations; basic probability (probability of random events; sequences of events etc); frequency distributions and their descriptive statistics (mean, variance, coefficient of variation, correlation etc).

Statistical hypothesis testing: Concept of p-value; Type I and Type II error, test statistics like t-test and Chi-square test; basics of linear regression and Anova.

Chapter 4 – Behavioural Ecology

Classical ethology; neuroethology; evolutionary ethology; chemical, acoustic and visual signaling Mating systems; sexual dimorphism; mate choice; parenting behaviour Competition; aggression; foraging behaviour; predator–prey interactions; Sociobiology: kin selection, altruism, costs and benefits of group-living.

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Preparation Books for GATE 2020 Ecology & Evaluation

GATE is a national level competitive exam conducted for admission to M.Tech and Ph.D. courses. GATE is considered as one of the difficult exams. Hence, the preparation to qualify it should be very good. 

Best books are one of the best ways for preparation. Candidates are suggested to refer good books for better preparation. Thus, we are suggesting you some important books for GATE preparation for Ecology & Evaluation.

Also Check GATE Recommended Books

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GATE 2020 Exam Pattern

There are total 25 papers in GATE exam. Hence, the paper pattern is quite tricky. GATE Exam Patten is quite different for all papers. 

• GATE consists 3 sections namely General Aptitude, Mathematics and specific subject of the paper
• The paper is held in online mode (Computer Based Test) in multiple shifts.
• Question paper comprises total 65 questions worth 100 marks. 
• There are 2 types of questions namely- Multiple Choice type (MCQ) and Numerical Answer Type (NAT).
• The maximum number of questions in GATE are from the core subject.
• The duration of the paper is 3 hours.

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