The advances made possible by the development of molecular techniques have in recent years revolutionized quantitative genetics and its relevance for population genetics. Population Genetics and Microevolutionary Theory takes a modern approach to population genetics, incorporating modern molecular biology, species-level evolutionary biology, and a thorough acknowledgment of quantitative genetics as the theoretical basis for population genetics. Logically organized into three main sections on population structure and history, genotype-phenotype interactions, and selection/adaptation Extensive use of real examples to illustrate concepts Written in a clear and accessible manner and devoid of complex mathematical equations Includes the author's introduction to background material as well as a conclusion for a handy overview of the field and its modern applications Each chapter ends with a set of review questions and answers Offers helpful general references and Internet links

The advances made possible by the development of molecular techniques have in recent years revolutionized quantitative genetics and its relevance for population genetics. Population Genetics and Microevolutionary Theory takes a modern approach to population genetics, incorporating modern molecular biology, species-level evolutionary biology, and a thorough acknowledgment of quantitative genetics as the theoretical basis for population genetics. Logically organized into three main sections on population structure and history, genotype-phenotype interactions, and selection/adaptation Extensive use of real examples to illustrate concepts Written in a clear and accessible manner and devoid of complex mathematical equations Includes the author's introduction to background material as well as a conclusion for a handy overview of the field and its modern applications Each chapter ends with a set of review questions and answers Offers helpful general references and Internet links

Introductory guide to human population genetics and microevolutionary theory Providing an introduction to mathematical population genetics, Human Population Genetics gives basic background on the mechanisms of human microevolution. This text combines mathematics, biology, and anthropology and is best suited for advanced undergraduate and graduate study. Thorough and accessible, Human Population Genetics presents concepts and methods of population genetics specific to human population study, utilizing uncomplicated mathematics like high school algebra and basic concepts of probability to explain theories central to the field. By describing changes in the frequency of genetic variants from one generation to the next, this book hones in on the mathematical basis of evolutionary theory. Human Population Genetics includes: Helpful formulae for learning ease Graphs and analogies that make basic points and relate the evolutionary process to mathematical ideas Glossary terms marked in boldface within the book the first time they appear In-text citations that act as reference points for further research Exemplary case studies Topics such as Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, inbreeding, mutation, genetic drift, natural selection, and gene flow Human Population Genetics solidifies knowledge learned in introductory biological anthropology or biology courses and makes it applicable to genetic study. NOTE: errata for the first edition can be found at the author's website: http://employees.oneonta.edu/relethjh/HPG/errata.pdf

The Fourth Edition of Genetics of Populations is the most current, comprehensive, and accessible introduction to the field for advanced undergraduate and graduate students, and researchers in genetics, evolution, conservation, and related fields. In the past several years, interest in the application of population genetics principles to new molecular data has increased greatly, and Dr. Hedrick's new edition exemplifies his commitment to keeping pace with this dynamic area of study. Reorganized to allow students to focus more sharply on key material, the Fourth Edition integrates coverage of theoretical issues with a clear presentation of experimental population genetics and empirical data. Drawing examples from both recent and classic studies, and using a variety of organisms to illustrate the vast developments of population genetics, this text provides students and researchers with the most comprehensive resource in the field.

Human Population Genetics and Genomics provides researchers/students with knowledge on population genetics and relevant statistical approaches to help them become more effective users of modern genetic, genomic and statistical tools. In-depth chapters offer thorough discussions of systems of mating, genetic drift, gene flow and subdivided populations, human population history, genotype and phenotype, detecting selection, units and targets of natural selection, adaptation to temporally and spatially variable environments, selection in age-structured populations, and genomics and society. As human genetics and genomics research often employs tools and approaches derived from population genetics, this book helps users understand the basic principles of these tools. In addition, studies often employ statistical approaches and analysis, so an understanding of basic statistical theory is also needed. - Comprehensively explains the use of population genetics and genomics in medical applications and research - Discusses the relevance of population genetics and genomics to major social issues, including race and the dangers of modern eugenics proposals - Provides an overview of how population genetics and genomics helps us understand where we came from as a species and how we evolved into who we are now

An inspiring introduction to a vital scientific field. The reader is taken through ten mathematical derivations that lead to important results, explaining in a hands-on manner the key concepts and methods of theoretical population genetics. The derivations are carefully worked out and easy to follow. Particular attention is given to the underlying assumptions and the mathematics used. The results are discussed and broadened out with relevant current implications. All topics feature questions with helpful answers. The book is intended for the reader who already knows some population genetics but requires a more comprehensive understanding. It is particularly suited to those who analyse genetic data and wish to better grasp what their results actually mean. It will also be helpful for those who wish to understand how population genetics contributes to the explanation of evolution. Or as the writers claim: If one wants to understand life in all its improbable and amazing richness one must start by understanding population genetics.

This book aims to make population genetics approachable, logical and easily understood. To achieve these goals, the book’s design emphasizes well explained introductions to key principles and predictions. These are augmented with case studies as well as illustrations along with introductions to classical hypotheses and debates. Pedagogical features in the text include: Interact boxes that guide readers step-by-step through computer simulations using public domain software. Math boxes that fully explain mathematical derivations. Methods boxes that give insight into the use of actual genetic data. Numerous Problem boxes are integrated into the text to reinforce concepts as they are encountered. Dedicated website at www.wiley.com/go/hamiltongenetics This text also offers a highly accessible introduction to coalescent theory, the major conceptual advance in population genetics of the last two decades.

What are the genomic signatures of adaptations in DNA? How often does natural selection dictate changes to DNA? How does the ebb and flow in the abundance of individuals over time get marked onto chromosomes to record genetic history? Molecular population genetics seeks to answer such questions by explaining genetic variation and molecular evolution from micro-evolutionary principles. It provides a way to learn about how evolution works and how it shapes species by incorporating molecular details of DNA as the heritable material. It enables us to understand the logic of how mutations originate, change in abundance in populations, and become fixed as DNA sequence divergence between species. With the revolutionary advances in genomic data acquisition, understanding molecular population genetics is now a fundamental requirement for today's life scientists. These concepts apply in analysis of personal genomics, genome-wide association studies, landscape and conservation genetics, forensics, molecular anthropology, and selection scans. This book introduces, in an accessible way, the bare essentials of the theory and practice of molecular population genetics.

Published by Sinauer Associates, an imprint of Oxford University Press. Provides descriptions of the methods and tools used in molecular population genetics, which has combined advances in molecular biology and genomics with mathematical and empirical findings to uncover the history of natural selection and demographic shifts in many organisms.

Although plants comprise more than 90% of all visible life, and land plants and algae collectively make up the most morphologically, physiologically, and ecologically diverse group of organisms on earth, books on evolution instead tend to focus on animals. This organismal bias has led to an incomplete and often erroneous understanding of evolutionary theory. Because plants grow and reproduce differently than animals, they have evolved differently, and generally accepted evolutionary views—as, for example, the standard models of speciation—often fail to hold when applied to them. Tapping such wide-ranging topics as genetics, gene regulatory networks, phenotype mapping, and multicellularity, as well as paleobotany, Karl J. Niklas’s Plant Evolution offers fresh insight into these differences. Following up on his landmark book The Evolutionary Biology of Plants—in which he drew on cutting-edge computer simulations that used plants as models to illuminate key evolutionary theories—Niklas incorporates data from more than a decade of new research in the flourishing field of molecular biology, conveying not only why the study of evolution is so important, but also why the study of plants is essential to our understanding of evolutionary processes. Niklas shows us that investigating the intricacies of plant development, the diversification of early vascular land plants, and larger patterns in plant evolution is not just a botanical pursuit: it is vital to our comprehension of the history of all life on this green planet.