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Introduction to Ecology and Evolution GATE:
Ecology and Evolution is a branch of biological science that focuses on the study of interactions between living organisms and their environment, as well as the mechanisms driving evolutionary processes. The Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) is an all-India examination conducted jointly by the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) on behalf of the National Coordination Board (NCB)-GATE, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education (MoE), Government of India.
The Ecology and Evolution GATE examination provides a platform for aspiring ecologists and evolutionary biologists to demonstrate their knowledge, analytical skills, and understanding of various ecological and evolutionary concepts. By qualifying in GATE, candidates can gain admission to postgraduate programs (Masters and Doctoral) in esteemed institutions across India, including IITs, NITs, and other universities offering ecology and evolution-related courses.
Ecology and Evolution Subject Code: EY
Topic wise detailed syllabus for GATE 2024: Ecology and Evolution.
Abiotic and biotic components; scales (population, species, community, ecosystems, biomes); niches and habitats.
: Population growth rates (density dependent/independent); metapopulation ecology (colonization, persistence, extinction, patches, sources, sinks); age-structured populations.
Types (mutualism, symbiosis, commensalism, competition, parasitism, predation, etc); ecophysiology (physiological adaptations to abiotic environment); prey-predator interactions (Lotka-Voltera equation etc)
Community assembly, organization and succession; species richness, evenness and diversity indices, species-area relationships; theory of island biogeography
trophic levels and their interactions; nutrient cycles; primary and secondary productivity
Lamarckism; Darwinism; Modern Synthesis
Variation; heritability; natural selection; fitness and adaptation; types of selection (stabilizing, directional, disruptive)
Origin and history of life on earth; diversity and classification of life; systems of classification (cladistics and phenetics)
Allocation of resources; tradeoffs; r/K selection; semelparity and iteroparity
Co-evolution (co-adaptations, arms race, Red Queen hypothesis, co-speciation); prey-predator interactions (mimicry, crypsis, etc)
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
Neutral theory; molecular clocks; rates of evolution; phylogenetic reconstruction; molecular systematics
Species concepts and speciation; adaptive radiation; convergence; biogeography
: 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).
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.
Instinct; fixed action patters; imprinting; learnt behavior; proximate and ultimate questions
Neuroethology; communication (chemical, acoustic and visual signaling); recognition systems
Foraging behaviour; optimal foraging theory
Cost of sex; sexual dimorphism; mate choice; sexual selection (runaway selection, good-genes, handicap principle, etc); sexual conflict; mating systems; parental care. Social living: Costs and benefits of group-living (including responses to predators); effect of competition (scramble and contest) on group formation; dominance relationships; eusociality; kin selection; altruism; reciprocity; human behaviour
Importance of conserving biodiversity; ecosystem services; threats to biodiversity; invasive species; in-situ conservation (endemism, biodiversity hotspots, protected areas); ex-situ conservation; conservation genetics (genetic diversity, inbreeding depression); DNA fingerprinting and DNA barcoding
Epidemiology; zoonotic diseases; antibiotic resistance; vector Control Plant and animal breeding: Marker assisted breeding; genetic basis of economically important traits
Causes; consequences; mitigation
GATE Ecology and Evolution Result analysis
Gate Ecology and Evolution topper score by year
| Year | Papers | Marks | Score |
| 2022 | GATE Ecology and Evolution | 71 | 989 |
| 2021 | GATE Ecology and Evolution | 78 | 1000 |
| 2020 | GATE Ecology and Evolution | 84 | 1000 |
| 2019 | GATE Ecology and Evolution | – | 1000 |
| 2018 | GATE Ecology and Evolution | – | 1000 |
| 2017 | GATE Ecology and Evolution | _ | 1000 |
GATE Ecology and Evolution cut-off by year
GATE Ecology and Evolution (EY) Cut Off Trends
Candidates can analyse the GATE Ecology and Evolution Cut Off for the various years and understand the GATE EY Cut Off Trends. Understanding the cut-off trend is very important and will help the candidates to draw a conclusion regarding the minimum and maximum cut-off to be secured.
| Category | General | OBC-NCL/EWS | SC/ST/PWD |
| 2022 | 33.4 | 30 | 22.2 |
| 2021 | 35.7 | 32.1 | 23.8 |
| 2020 | 42.2 | 37.9 | 28.1 |
| 2019 | 37.1 | 33.4 | 24.7 |
| 2018 | 49.3 | 44.3 | 32.8 |
Number of students appearing for GATE Ecology and Evolution Exam
| Year | Registered Candidates | Candidates appeared | Qualified candidates |
| 2022 | 3204 | 2232 | 467 |
| 2021 | – | 1718 | 342 |
| 2020 | 1732 | 1214 | _ |
| 2019 | 1460 | 1092 | – |
| 2018 | 1506 | 1110 | – |
| 2017 | 906 | 719 | 145 |
Previous Year Question Papers
Download previous year question papers from the official GATE website click here.
Video Links For Ecology and Evolution
1.Ecology and Evolution Introduction
2. Ecology and Evolution Revision
3. Ecology and Evolution Preparation Tutorial
4. Tutorial on Ecology and Evolution