GATE Ecology and Evolution Syllabus 2025 – EY Chapters, Topics
GATE Ecology and Evolution Syllabus 2025: Check out the latest GATE Syllabus for Ecology and Evolution (EY). Ecology and Evolution subject is the one of the papers in GATE 2022 Exam. Earlier we’ve provided the GATE Exam pattern 2022, Now we are providing GATE Syllabus 2025 of Ecology and Evolution Paper. EY is the subject code of GATE Ecology and Evolution Exam. Below we’ve provided GATE Ecology and Evolution Syllabus and weight-age for GATE 2022 Exam. Here you can see Ecology and Evolution applicable chapters and topics for GATE exam 2022.
GATE Paper Pattern & Marks Weightage
GATE paper questions are divided into three sections. As given below GATE marks are distributed for each section. 70% of the marks covers the core subject of the GATE Exam. i.e here Core Subject is Ecology and Evolution.
GATE 2019 – 2022
Paper Pattern for Ecology and Evolution (EY)
GATE Paper Sections | GATE Marks Distribution |
Subject Questions (Core Subject) | 70% of the total marks. |
Engineering Mathematics | 15% of the total marks. |
General Aptitude (GA) | 15% of the total marks. |
GATE Ecology and Evolution Syllabus 2025
The GATE exam will also have General Aptitude section. General Aptitude section is common for all papers. You can download the GATE 2022 Syllabus for General Aptitude (GA) in PDF or you can check
GATE General Aptitude (GA) Syllabus (Full Details)
GATE 2022 Syllabus pdf
GATE Ecology and Evolution Syllabus
General Aptitude Syllabus (Common to all papers) | Download |
GATE Syllabus for Ecology and Evolution (EY) | Download |
GATE Ecology and Evolution Syllabus 2025
Section 1: Ecology
Fundamental concepts: Abiotic and biotic components; scales (population, species, community, ecosystems, biomes); niches and habitats.
Population ecology: Population growth rates (density-dependent/independent); metapopulation ecology (colonization, persistence, extinction, patches, sources, sinks); age-structured populations.
Interactions: Types (mutualism, symbiosis, commensalism, competition, parasitism, predation, etc); ecophysiology (physiological adaptations to the abiotic environment); prey-predator interactions (LotkaVoltera equation etc)
Community ecology: Community assembly, organization, and succession; species richness, evenness and diversity indices, species-area relationships; theory of island biogeography
Ecosystems structure and function: trophic levels and their interactions; nutrient cycles; primary and secondary productivity
Section 2: Evolution
History of Evolutionary thought: Lamarckism; Darwinism; Modern Synthesis
Fundamentals: Variation; heritability; natural selection; fitness and adaptation; types of selection
(stabilizing, directional, disruptive)
Diversity of life: Origin and history of life on earth; diversity and classification of life; systems of classification (cladistics and phenetics)
Life history strategies: Allocation of resources; tradeoffs; r/K selection; semelparity and iteroparity
Interactions: Co-evolution (co-adaptations, arms race, Red Queen hypothesis, co-speciation); prey-predator interactions (mimicry, crypsis, etc)
Population and Quantitative genetics: Origins of genetic variation; Mendelian genetics; HardyWeinberg equilibrium; drift; selection (one-locus two-alleles model); population genetic structure
(panmixia, gene flow, FST); polygenic traits; gene-environment interactions (phenotypic plasticity);
heritability
Molecular evolution and phylogenetics: Neutral theory; molecular clocks; rates of evolution;
phylogenetic reconstruction; molecular systematics
Macroevolution: Species concepts and speciation; adaptive radiation; convergence; biogeography.
Section 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.
Section 4: Behavioural Ecology
Classical ethology; neuroethology; evolutionary ethology; chemical, acoustic and visual signaling
Sensory ecology: Neuroetholgy, communication (acoustic, chemical, and visual signaling); recognition system.
Foraging ecology: Foraging behaviour; optimal forgaging theory
Reproduction: Cost of sex. sexual dimorphism; mate choice; sexual selection (runaway selection, good-gense, handicap priciples, etc); sexual conflict, mating systems, parents care
Social living: Costs and benefits of group-living (including responses to predators); effect of competition (scramble and contest) on group formation; dominance relationship; eusociality; kin selection, altrusim; reciprocity; human behaviour
Section 5: Applied Ecology & Evolution
Biodiversity and Conservation: Importance of conserving biodiversity; econsyste services; threats to biodiversiy; invasive species, in-situ conservation endemism, biodiversity hotspots, protected areas); ex-situ conservation; conservation genetics (genetic diversity, inbreeding depression); DNA fingerprinting and DNA barcoding
Disease ecology and evolution: Epidemology, Zoonotic diseases; antibiotic resistance; vector control
Plant and animal breeding: genetic basis of economically, maker assisted.
Globa climate change: Causes; consequences; mitigation
So, we have mentioned the complete syllaubs of GATE Ecology and Evolution Syllabus. GATE paper weightage, etc were mentioned. So for more details subscribe to our website.