An accessible but rigorous treatment of the theoretical foundations of population genetics. Population genetics—the branch of evolutionary biology concerned with understanding how and why populations’ genetic compositions change over time—rests on a well-developed theoretical foundation that draws on genetics, mathematics, and computer science. This textbook provides an approachable but rigorous treatment for advanced undergraduate and graduate students interested in building a quantitative understanding of the genetics of evolution. Existing texts either assume very mathematically advanced readers, or avoid much of the underlying theory, instead focusing on current methods of data analysis. In contrast, The Foundations of Population Genetics develops the theory from first principles. Requiring only confidence in algebra, this self-contained, student-friendly book illustrates the conceptual framework, terminology, and methods of mathematical modeling. It progressively introduces concepts from genetics as needed, while emphasizing biological implications throughout. As a result, readers come away with a deep understanding of the structure of population genetics without needing to master its mathematics. Connects theory with the most recent genetic data better than existing texts Features engaging real-world examples and extensive original figures Provides dozens of carefully scaffolded questions that deepen the reader's understanding of key concepts Ideal as a succinct reference for established scientists in biology, medicine, and computer science Instructor resources available

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

This edition provides a balanced presentation of theory and observation. It introduces the principles of genetics and statistics that are relevant to population studies, and examines the forces affecting genetic variation from the molecular to the organismic level.

This concise introduction offers students and researchers an overview of the discipline that connects genetics and evolution. Addressing the theories behind population genetics and relevant empirical evidence, John Gillespie discusses genetic drift, natural selection, nonrandom mating, quantitative genetics, and the evolutionary advantage of sex. First published to wide acclaim in 1998, this brilliant primer has been updated to include new sections on molecular evolution, genetic drift, genetic load, the stationary distribution, and two-locus dynamics. This book is indispensable for students working in a laboratory setting or studying free-ranging populations.

These volumes discuss evolutionary biology through the lense of population genetics.

A definitive account of the origins of modern mathematical population genetics, first published in 2000.

It is part of the ideology of science that it is an international enterprise, carried out by a community that knows no barriers of nation or culture. But the reality is somewhat different. Despite the best intentions of scientists to form a single community, unseparated by differences of national and political viewpoint, they are, in fact, separated by language. Scientific literature in German is not generally assimilated by French workers, nor that appearing in French by those whose native language is English. The problem appears to have become more severe since the last war, because the ascendance of the United States as the preeminent economic power led, in a time of big and expensive science, to a pre dominance of American scientific production and a growing tendency (at least among English-speakers) to regard English as the international language of science. International congresses and journals of world circulation have come more and more to take English as their standard or official language. As a result, students and scientific workers in the English speaking world have become more linguistically parochial than ever before and have been cut off from a considerable scientific literature. Population genetics has been no exception to the rule. The elegant and extremely innovative theoreticaI work of Malecot, for example, is only now being properly assimilated by population biologists outside France. It was therefore with some sense of frustration that I read Prof.

I have for a number of years taught a course in population genetics for students interested in plant and animal breeding. The objective of the course has been to lay a foundation in population genetics for the concepts of quantitative genetics which are introduced in the last third of the course. I have not been able to find an appropriate text for this purpose. For a quarter of a century, Falconer's Introduction to Quantitative Genetics has been the standard, and excellent, text in that subject. For my purposes, however, this text is not sufficiently detailed in the population genetics basis for quantitative theory. A number of good texts in population genetics are available, of which Li's First Course in Population Genetics is didactically the best. But these texts are directed toward the genetics of natural populations, rather than domestic populations, breeding under human control. They also tend to treat quantitative genetics gingerly, if at all. I have therefore developed the present text from my teaching notes. The chapters of this book are labeled "Lectures". Each is intended to correspond approximately to the amount of material which can be covered in a 50-minute lecture. Divisions are, of course, dictated by the natural divisions of the subject matter, and the lectures are therefore not of uniform length. Nevertheless, in so far as possible, an attempt has been made to make the average length a lecture's worth.

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.

"Wright's views about population genetics and evolution are so fundamental and so comprehensive that every serious student must examine these books firsthand. . . . Publication of this treatise is a major event in evolutionary biology."-Daniel L. Hartl, BioScience