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

Author: Motoo Kimura
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691210098
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 233

View

Book Description
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.

Author: James F. Crown (E. A. P.)
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 591

View

Book Description

Author: Samuel Karlin
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 069121011X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 333

View

Book Description
This book deals with a key area of population genetics: the ratio of the sexes in a population, or the allocation of resources to male versus female reproductive function. Samuel Karlin and Sabin Lessard establish the formal theoretical aspects of the evolution of sex ratio within the constraints of genetic mechanisms of sex determination. Their results generalize and unify existing work on the topic, strengthening previous conceptions in some cases and, in other instances, offering new directions of research. There are two main approaches to understanding the causes and effects of sex ratio. One approach focuses on the optimization and adaptive functions of sex allocation, while the other emphasizes the consequences of genetic sex determination mechanisms. In discussing the utility of these two approaches, Professors Karlin and Lessard examine the principal sex-determining mechanisms and facts involved in sex ratio representations, the various genetic and environmental factors that contribute to adaptive sex expression, and the evolution of sex determining systems and controls. From a population genetic perspective, the authors derive evolutionary properties in support of the high incidence of 1:1 sex ratio in natural populations and investigate the conditions that can explain the occurrence of biased sex ratio.

Author: Adam Lomnicki
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691209618
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 242

View

Book Description
A common tendency in the field of population ecology has been to overlook individual differences by treating populations as homogeneous units; conversely, in behavioral ecology the tendency has been to concentrate on how individual behavior is shaped by evolutionary forces, but not on how this behavior affects population dynamics. Adam Lomnicki and others aim to remedy this one-sidedness by showing that the overall dynamical behavior of populations must ultimately be understood in terms of the behavior of individuals. Professor Lomnicki's wide-ranging presentation of this approach includes simple mathematical models aimed at describing both the origin and consequences of individual variation among plants and animals. The author contends that further progress in population ecology will require taking into account individual differences other than sex, age, and taxonomic affiliation--unequal access to resources, for instance. Population ecologists who adopt this viewpoint may discover new answers to classical questions of population ecology. Partly because it uses a variety of examples from many taxonomic groups, this work will appeal not only to population ecologists but to ecologists in general.

Author: Walter D. Koenig
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691209626
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 458

View

Book Description
Ever since the acorn woodpecker was observed and described by Spanish explorers, its behavior--particularly the unique habit of caching acorns in specialized storage trees or granaries--has impressed observers. Acorn woodpeckers are also one of the few temperate zone species in which young are reared communally in family groups. This demographic study investigates the complexities of acorn storage and group living in acorn woodpeckers at Hastings Reservation in central coastal California. It is one of the most thorough studies of any avian social system to date.

Author: Wayne M. Getz
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691209634
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 414

View

Book Description
Whether in felling trees for wood, rearing insects for biological control, or culling animals for conservation purposes, efficient management of biological systems requires quantitative analysis of population growth and harvesting policies. Aiming to encourage the exchange of ideas among scientists involved in the management of fisheries, wildlife, forest stands, and pest control, the authors of this work present a general framework for modeling populations that reproduce seasonally and that have age or stage structure as an essential component of management strategy. The book represents the first time that examples from such diverse areas of biological resource management have been brought together in a unified modeling framework using the standard notation of mathematical systems theory. In addition, the authors combine a nonlinear extension of Leslie matrix theory and certain linear elements, thereby permitting interesting analytical results and the creation of compact, realistic simulation models of resource systems.

Author: Robert V. O'Neill
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691236607
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 266

View

Book Description
"Ecosystem" is an intuitively appealing concept to most ecologists, but, in spite of its widespread use, the term remains diffuse and ambiguous. The authors of this book argue that previous attempts to define the concept have been derived from particular viewpoints to the exclusion of others equally possible. They offer instead a more general line of thought based on hierarchy theory. Their contribution should help to counteract the present separation of subdisciplines in ecology and to bring functional and population/community ecologists closer to a common approach. Developed as a way of understanding highly complex organized systems, hierarchy theory has at its center the idea that organization results from differences in process rates. To the authors the theory suggests an objective way of decomposing ecosystems into their component parts. The results thus obtained offer a rewarding method for integrating various schools of ecology.

Author: Glen Everett Woolfenden
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691209987
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 425

View

Book Description
Florida Scrub Jays are an excellent example of a cooperative-breeding species, in which adult birds often help raise offspring not their own. For more than a decade Glen E. Woolfenden and John W. Fitzpatrick studied a marked population of these birds in an attempt to establish a demographic base for understanding the phenomenon of "helping at the nest." By studying both population biology and behavior, the authors found that habitat restraints, rather than kin selection, are the main source of the behavior of Florida Scrub Jays: the goal of increasing the number of close relatives other than descendants in future generations is of relatively minor importance in their cooperative-breeding behavior. The Florida Scrub Jay lives only in the Florida oak scrub. All acceptable habitat is constantly filled with breeders. Each year about half of the pairs are assisted by one to several nonbreeding helpers. This book provides extensive data on fecundity, survivorship, relatedness, and dispersal to establish the demographic milieu and to address questions arising out of observed helping behavior--whom, how, when, and why the helpers help.

Author: Nancy Burley
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691209502
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 270

View

Book Description
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.

Author: Henry S. Horn
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691209294
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 162

View

Book Description
Through use of the models Professor Horn has devised, plant ecologists, foresters, and botanists will be able to predict the growth and productivity of a forest, the invading and senile species in a forest, the effect of shade tolerance on forest succession, and similar questions.