Theoretical Aspects of Population Genetics. (MPB-4), Volume 4
Theoretical Aspects of Population Genetics. (MPB-4), Volume 4

Author: Motoo Kimura

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2020-03-31

Total Pages: 233

ISBN-13: 0691210098

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To show the importance of stochastic processes in the change of gene frequencies, the authors discuss topics ranging from molecular evolution to two-locus problems in terms of diffusion models. Throughout their discussion, they come to grips with one of the most challenging problems in population genetics--the ways in which genetic variability is maintained in Mendelian populations. R.A. Fisher, J.B.S. Haldane, and Sewall Wright, in pioneering works, confirmed the usefulness of mathematical theory in population genetics. The synthesis their work achieved is recognized today as mathematical genetics, that branch of genetics whose aim is to investigate the laws governing the genetic structure of natural populations and, consequently, to clarify the mechanisms of evolution. For the benefit of population geneticists without advanced mathematical training, Professors Kimura and Ohta use verbal description rather than mathematical symbolism wherever practicable. A mathematical appendix is included.

Geographical Genetics (MPB-38)
Geographical Genetics (MPB-38)

Author: Bryan K. Epperson

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2003-08-11

Total Pages: 376

ISBN-13: 1400835623

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Population genetics has made great strides in applying statistical analysis and mathematical modeling to understand how genes mutate and spread through populations over time. But real populations also live in space. Streams, mountains, and other geographic features often divide populations, limit migration, or otherwise influence gene flow. This book rigorously examines the processes that determine geographic patterns of genetic variation, providing a comprehensive guide to their study and interpretation. Geographical Genetics has a unique focus on the mathematical relationships of spatial statistical measures of patterns to stochastic processes. It also develops the probability and distribution theory of various spatial statistics for analysis of population genetic data, detailing exact methods for using various spatial features to make precise inferences about migration, natural selection, and other dynamic forces. The book also reviews the experimental literature on the types of spatial patterns of genetic variation found within and among populations. And it makes an unprecedented strong connection between observed measures of spatial patterns and those predicted theoretically. Along the way, it introduces readers to the mathematics of spatial statistics, applications to specific population genetic systems, and the relationship between the mathematics of space-time processes and the formal theory of geographical genetics. Written by a leading authority, this is the first comprehensive treatment of geographical genetics. It is a much-needed guide to the theory, techniques, and applications of a field that will play an increasingly important role in population biology and ecology.

From Populations to Ecosystems
From Populations to Ecosystems

Author: Michel Loreau

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2010-07-01

Total Pages: 317

ISBN-13: 1400834163

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The major subdisciplines of ecology--population ecology, community ecology, ecosystem ecology, and evolutionary ecology--have diverged increasingly in recent decades. What is critically needed today is an integrated, real-world approach to ecology that reflects the interdependency of biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. From Populations to Ecosystems proposes an innovative theoretical synthesis that will enable us to advance our fundamental understanding of ecological systems and help us to respond to today's emerging global ecological crisis. Michel Loreau begins by explaining how the principles of population dynamics and ecosystem functioning can be merged. He then addresses key issues in the study of biodiversity and ecosystems, such as functional complementarity, food webs, stability and complexity, material cycling, and metacommunities. Loreau describes the most recent theoretical advances that link the properties of individual populations to the aggregate properties of communities, and the properties of functional groups or trophic levels to the functioning of whole ecosystems, placing special emphasis on the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Finally, he turns his attention to the controversial issue of the evolution of entire ecosystems and their properties, laying the theoretical foundations for a genuine evolutionary ecosystem ecology. From Populations to Ecosystems points the way to a much-needed synthesis in ecology, one that offers a fuller understanding of ecosystem processes in the natural world.

The Theory of Ecological Communities (MPB-57)
The Theory of Ecological Communities (MPB-57)

Author: Mark Vellend

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2020-09-15

Total Pages: 246

ISBN-13: 0691208999

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A plethora of different theories, models, and concepts make up the field of community ecology. Amid this vast body of work, is it possible to build one general theory of ecological communities? What other scientific areas might serve as a guiding framework? As it turns out, the core focus of community ecology—understanding patterns of diversity and composition of biological variants across space and time—is shared by evolutionary biology and its very coherent conceptual framework, population genetics theory. The Theory of Ecological Communities takes this as a starting point to pull together community ecology's various perspectives into a more unified whole. Mark Vellend builds a theory of ecological communities based on four overarching processes: selection among species, drift, dispersal, and speciation. These are analogues of the four central processes in population genetics theory—selection within species, drift, gene flow, and mutation—and together they subsume almost all of the many dozens of more specific models built to describe the dynamics of communities of interacting species. The result is a theory that allows the effects of many low-level processes, such as competition, facilitation, predation, disturbance, stress, succession, colonization, and local extinction to be understood as the underpinnings of high-level processes with widely applicable consequences for ecological communities. Reframing the numerous existing ideas in community ecology, The Theory of Ecological Communities provides a new way for thinking about biological composition and diversity.

Mate Choice in Plants (MPB-19), Volume 19
Mate Choice in Plants (MPB-19), Volume 19

Author: Nancy Burley

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2020-03-31

Total Pages: 270

ISBN-13: 0691209502

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This book maintains that higher plants manifest some degree of sexual selection, and it begins to build a framework that unifies many features of plant reproduction previously considered unrelated. Reviewing evidence for sexual selection in plants, the authors discuss possible male-female interactions, concluding with an extensive set of hypotheses for testing. Mechanisms that could be employed in sexual selection in plants include various cellular mechanisms, such as both nuclear and cytoplasmic genetics, B chromosomes, and paternal contributions to the zygote, as well as abortion, double fertilization, delayed fertilization, and certain forms of polyembryony. This study compares the consequences of these processes for the evolution of mate choice in "gymnosperms" and angiosperms.

Eco-Evolutionary Dynamics
Eco-Evolutionary Dynamics

Author:

Publisher: Academic Press

Published: 2014-08-12

Total Pages: 392

ISBN-13: 0128014334

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The theme of this volume is to discuss Eco-evolutionary Dynamics. - Updates and informs the reader on the latest research findings - Written by leading experts in the field - Highlights areas for future investigation

My Thoughts on Biological Evolution
My Thoughts on Biological Evolution

Author: Motoo Kimura

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2020-07-29

Total Pages: 159

ISBN-13: 9811561656

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This book, written by Motoo Kimura (1924–94), is a classic in evolutionary biology. In 1968, Kimura proposed the “neutral theory of molecular evolution”, which became the theoretical basis of modern evolutionary studies. After publishing his work in 1983 in the book “Neutral Theory of Molecular Evolution”, Kimura wrote this book in 1988 for the general public. It was originally written in Japanese and is translated here for the first time. In the book, Kimura first summarizes the development of evolutionary theory since Lamarck and Darwin. He then shows how the search for mechanisms of evolution developed into population genetics and describes how the study of molecular evolution matured by taking in the fruits of molecular biology. Kimura proceeds to carefully explain his neutral evolution theory at the molecular level. Finally, he presents his view of the world from an evolutionary perspective. The book has long served as an in-depth introduction to evolutionary biology for students and young researchers in Japan. There has been remarkably rapid progress in the field of bioscience at the molecular level over the past 30 years. Nevertheless, the book remains an important contribution that laid the foundations for what followed in molecular evolutionary studies.

Selection Methods in Plant Breeding
Selection Methods in Plant Breeding

Author: Izak Bos

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2007-10-26

Total Pages: 462

ISBN-13: 1402063709

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Written for plant breeders, researchers and post-graduate students, this excellent new book provides a comprehensive review of the methods and underlying theoretical foundations used for selection in plant breeding programs. The authors review basic elements of population and quantitative genetic theory, moving on to consider in a unique way the tackling of the problems presented by soil heterogeneity and intergenotypic competition when selecting quantitative characters.

Niche Construction
Niche Construction

Author: F. John Odling-Smee

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2013-02-15

Total Pages: 489

ISBN-13: 1400847265

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The seemingly innocent observation that the activities of organisms bring about changes in environments is so obvious that it seems an unlikely focus for a new line of thinking about evolution. Yet niche construction--as this process of organism-driven environmental modification is known--has hidden complexities. By transforming biotic and abiotic sources of natural selection in external environments, niche construction generates feedback in evolution on a scale hitherto underestimated--and in a manner that transforms the evolutionary dynamic. It also plays a critical role in ecology, supporting ecosystem engineering and influencing the flow of energy and nutrients through ecosystems. Despite this, niche construction has been given short shrift in theoretical biology, in part because it cannot be fully understood within the framework of standard evolutionary theory. Wedding evolution and ecology, this book extends evolutionary theory by formally including niche construction and ecological inheritance as additional evolutionary processes. The authors support their historic move with empirical data, theoretical population genetics, and conceptual models. They also describe new research methods capable of testing the theory. They demonstrate how their theory can resolve long-standing problems in ecology, particularly by advancing the sorely needed synthesis of ecology and evolution, and how it offers an evolutionary basis for the human sciences. Already hailed as a pioneering work by some of the world's most influential biologists, this is a rare, potentially field-changing contribution to the biological sciences.