Download or read book Adaptive Genetic Variation in the Wild written by Timothy A. Mousseau and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2000-01-13 with total page 276 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Two of the great mysteries of biology yet to be explored concern the distribution and abundance of genetic variation in natural populations and the genetic architecture of complex traits. These are tied together by their relationship to natural selection and evolutionary history, and some of the keys to disclosing these secrets lie in the study of wild organisms in their natural environments. This book, featuring a superb selection of papers from leading authors, summarizes the state of current understanding about the extent of genetic variation within wild populations and the ways to monitor such variation. It proposes the idea that a fundamental objective of evolutionary ecology is necessary to predict organism, population, community, and ecosystem response to environmental change. In fact, the overall theme of the papers centers around the expression of genetic variation and how it is shaped by the action of natural selection in the natural environment. Patterns of adaptation in the past and the genetic basis of traits likely to be under selection in a dynamically changing environment is discussed along with a wide variety of techniques to test for genetic variation and its consequences, ranging from classical demography to the use of molecular markers. This book is perfect for professionals and graduate students in genetics, biology, ecology, conservation biology, and evolution.
Download or read book Genetics of Adaptation written by Rodney Mauricio and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2005-07-20 with total page 207 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An enduring controversy in evolutionary biology is the genetic basis of adaptation. Darwin emphasized "many slight differences" as the ultimate source of variation to be acted upon by natural selection. In the early 1900’s, this view was opposed by "Mendelian geneticists", who emphasized the importance of "macromutations" in evolution. The Modern Synthesis resolved this controversy, concluding that mutations in genes of very small effect were responsible for adaptive evolution. A decade ago, Allen Orr and Jerry Coyne reexamined the evidence for this neo-Darwinian view and found that both the theoretical and empirical basis for it were weak. Orr and Coyne encouraged evolutionary biologists to reexamine this neglected question: what is the genetic basis of adaptive evolution? In this volume, a new generation of biologists have taken up this challenge. Using advances in both molecular genetic and statistical techniques, evolutionary geneticists have made considerable progress in this emerging field. In this volume, a diversity of examples from plant and animal studies provides valuable information for those interested in the genetics and evolution of complex traits.
Download or read book Local Adaptation And The Genetic Basis Of Adaptive Variation In Wild Plants written by Billie Alethea Gould and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 156 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The phenomenon of local adaptation is a key player in the evolution of plants, which are shaped by their environments perhaps more than any other organismal group. Botanists have often demonstrated adaptive trait differences between plant populations in different environments, and the concept of the "ecotype" was itself coined by an early plant biologist (Turesson, 1922). We continue striving to understand how the push and pull of selection and gene flow across heterogeneous environments contributes to the maintenance of genetic diversity and influences fundamental aspects of species biology such as geographic distribution, morphological diversity, and population response to environmental change. Understanding how often and why local adaptation occurs is an area of research that links both basic and applied branches of plant biology. In my dissertation I address fundamental questions regarding local adaptation in plants including: 1) What is the prevalence and role of local adaptation in determining the geographic distribution of a species; 2) What are the genes involved in local adaptation in the wild; and 3) do adaptive phenotypes evolve by similar genetic pathways in related species with different histories of selection. To address the first question, I examined the role of trait differentiation in range boundary formation in the annual wildflower Clarkia xantiana ssp. xantiana. To explore the second and third questions, I examined patterns of local adaptation and its genetic basis in the temperate grass Anthoxanthum odoratum. I iii focused on the ecologically and agriculturally important trait of tolerance to aluminum in acid soils. In C. x. ssp. xantiana I have shown that adaptive differentiation between populations is common. Counter to theoretical expectations however, local adaptation to conditions at the range edge does not preclude the existence of substantial heritable trait variation there and is thus unlikely to restrict adaptation to conditions beyond the range edge. In A. odoratum local adaptation is also prevalent even at the small spatial scale of experimental plots within a single hay meadow at the long-term ecological Park Grass Experiment. Using genomic techniques, I demonstrate that adaptation to soil Al stress in this wild grass has many genetic similarities to cultivated grasses, but also likely involves previously undescribed genetic pathways. Both novel and canonical pathways are also likely to have been the targets of selection during the process of local adaptation during the history of the experiment. In combination, these studies reaffirm the prevalence of local adaptation in nature, but they also demonstrate that simple theoretical predictions about the exitence of local adaptation, its genetic basis, and its ecological consequences are suspect. Direct studies of adaptive traits and their underlying genes in diverse organisms will continue to be critical for understanding the true nature of the complex interaction between selection, gene flow, and genetic architechture to produce what we observe in the natural world. iv.
Download or read book In the Light of Evolution written by National Academy of Sciences and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 388 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Arthur M. Sackler Colloquia of the National Academy of Sciences address scientific topics of broad and current interest, cutting across the boundaries of traditional disciplines. Each year, four or five such colloquia are scheduled, typically two days in length and international in scope. Colloquia are organized by a member of the Academy, often with the assistance of an organizing committee, and feature presentations by leading scientists in the field and discussions with a hundred or more researchers with an interest in the topic. Colloquia presentations are recorded and posted on the National Academy of Sciences Sackler colloquia website and published on CD-ROM. These Colloquia are made possible by a generous gift from Mrs. Jill Sackler, in memory of her husband, Arthur M. Sackler.
Download or read book Time to Adapt written by Melanie B. Prentice and published by . This book was released on 2018 with total page 544 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: To better understandspecies? resilience to climate changeand implement solutions, we must conserve environments thatmaintain standing adaptive genetic variation and the potential generation of new beneficial alleles.Coding trinucleotide repeats (cTNRs) providing high-pace adaptive capabilitiesvia high rates of mutationareideal targets for mitigating the decline of species at risk by characterizingadaptively significantpopulations. Ultimately, adaptive genetic information will informthe protection of biological diversity below the species level (i.e.,?Evolutionarily Significant Units? or ?ESUs?). This dissertation investigates cTNRs within candidate genes to determine their prevalence and influence under selection in North American mammals. First, I evaluated the potential for somatic mosaicism in Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis), and found that tissue-specific mosaicism does not confound cTNR genotyping success in lynx. Second, I assessed a selection of clock gene cTNRs across characterized mammals and found that these repeats are abundant and highly variable in length and purity. I also identified preliminary signatures of selection in 3 clock gene cTNRs in 3 pairs of congeneric North American mammal species, highlighting the importance of cTNRs for understanding the evolution and adaptation of wild populations. I further evaluated the influence of selection on the NR1D1cTNR within Canada lynx sampled across Canada using environmental correlation, where I estimated the variation in NR1D1cTNR alleles explained by environmental and spatial variables after removing the effects of neutral population structure. Although most variation was explained by neutral structure,environment and spatial patterns in eastern lynx populations significantly explained some of the variation in NR1D1alleles. To examine the role of island populations in the generation and distribution of adaptive genetic variation, I used 14 neutral microsatellites and a dinucleotide repeat within a gene linked to mammalian body size, IGF-1, and found that both genetic drift and natural selection influence the observed genetic diversity of insular lynx. Finally, I estimated the divergence dates of peripheral lynx populations and made recommendations towards the conservation of Canada lynx; high levels of genetic differentiation coupled with post-glacial colonization histories and patterns of divergence at cTNR loci suggest at least 4 ESUs for Canada lynxacross their range.KEY WORDSAdaptation, evolution, natural selection, genetic drift, coding trinucleotide repeats, candidate genes, clock genes, outlier detection, environmental association, Approximate Bayesian Computation, Lynx canadensis, Lynx rufus, Glaucomys sabrinus, Glaucomys volans, Peromyscus maniculatus, Peromyscus leucopus, Ontario, Canada, North America.
Download or read book Evolutionary Conservation Genetics written by Jacob Höglund and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2009-03-19 with total page 200 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Conservation genetics focuses on understanding the role of genetic variation for population persistence. This book is about the methods used to study genetic variation in endangered species and whether genetic variation matters in the extinction of species.
Download or read book Quantitative Genetics in the Wild written by Anne Charmantier and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2014 with total page 293 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book gathers the expertise of 30 evolutionary biologists from around the globe to highlight how applying the field of quantitative genetics - the analysis of the genetic basis of complex traits - aids in the study of wild populations.
Download or read book Evolutionary Quantitative Genetics written by Derek A. Roff and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 503 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The impetus for this book arose out of my previous book, The Evolution of Life Histories (Roff, 1992). In that book I presented a single chapter on quanti tative genetic theory. However, as the book was concerned with the evolution of life histories and traits connected to this, the presence of quantitative genetic variation was an underlying theme throughout. Much of the focus was placed on optimality theory, for it is this approach that has proven to be extremely successful in the analysis of life history variation. But quantitative genetics cannot be ig nored, because there are some questions for which optimality approaches are inappropriate; for example, although optimality modeling can address the ques tion of the maintenance of phenotypic variation, it cannot say anything about genetic variation, on which further evolution clearly depends. The present book is, thus, a natural extension of the first. I have approached the problem not from the point of view of an animal or plant breeder but from that of one interested in understanding the evolution of quantitative traits in wild populations. The subject is large with a considerable body of theory: I generally present the assumptions underlying the analysis and the results, giving the relevant references for those interested in the intervening mathematics. My interest is in what quantitative genetics tells me about evolutionary processes; therefore, I have concentrated on areas of research most relevant to field studies.
Download or read book Genetics and Conservation written by and published by Benjamin-Cummings Publishing Company. This book was released on 1983 with total page 752 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Isolation. Extinction. Founding and Bottlenecks. Hybridization and merging populations. Natural diversity and taxonomy.
Download or read book Adaptation and Fitness in Animal Populations written by Julius van der Werf and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2008-10-17 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fitness and adaptation are fundamental characteristics of plant and animal species, enabling them to survive in their environment and to adapt to the inevitable changes in this environment. This is true for both the genetic resources of natural ecosystems as well as those used in agricultural production. Extensive genetic variation exists between varieties/breeds in a species and amongst individuals within breeds. This variation has developed over very long periods of time. A major ongoing challenge is how to best utilize this variation to meet short-term demands whilst also conserving it for longer-term possible use. Many animal breeding programs have led to increased performance for production traits but this has often been accompanied by reduced fitness. In addition, the global use of genetic resources prompts the question whether introduced genotypes are adapted to local production systems. Understanding the genetic nature of fitness and adaptation will enable us to better manage genetic resources allowing us to make efficient and sustainable decisions for the improvement or breeding of these resources. This book had an ambitious goal in bringing together a sample of the world’s leading scientists in animal breeding and evolutionary genetics to exchange knowledge to advance our understanding of these vital issues.
Download or read book Genetics and Analysis of Quantitative Traits written by Michael Lynch and published by Sinauer Associates Incorporated. This book was released on 1998-01 with total page 980 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Professors Lynch and Walsh bring together the diverse array of theoretical and empirical applications of quantitative genetics in a work that is comprehensive and accessible to anyone with a rudimentary understanding of statistics and genetics.
Download or read book Natural Selection in the Wild MPB 21 Volume 21 written by John A. Endler and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2020-03-31 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Natural selection is an immense and important subject, yet there have been few attempts to summarize its effects on natural populations, and fewer still which discuss the problems of working with natural selection in the wild. These are the purposes of John Endler's book. In it, he discusses the methods and problems involved in the demonstration and measurement of natural selection, presents the critical evidence for its existence, and places it in an evolutionary perspective. Professor Endler finds that there are a remarkable number of direct demonstrations of selection in a wide variety of animals and plants. The distribution of observed magnitudes of selection in natural populations is surprisingly broad, and it overlaps extensively the range of values found in artificial selection. He argues that the common assumption that selection is usually weak in natural populations is no longer tenable, but that natural selection is only one component of the process of evolution; natural selection can explain the change of frequencies of variants, but not their origins.
Download or read book Conservation Genetics in Mammals written by Jorge Ortega and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2020-01-24 with total page 374 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book focuses on the use of molecular tools to study small populations of rare and endangered mammals, and presents case studies that apply an evolutionary framework to address innovative questions in the emerging field of mammalian conservation genomics using a highly diverse set of novel molecular tools. Novel and more precise molecular technologies now allow experts in the field of mammology to interpret data in a more contextual and empirical fashion and to better describe the evolutionary and ecological processes that are responsible for the patterns they observe. The book also demonstrates how recent advances in genetic/genomic technologies have been applied to assess the impact of environmental/anthropogenic changes on the health of small populations of mammals. It examines a range of issues in the field of mammalian conservation genomics, such as the role that the genetic diversity of the immune system plays in disease protection and local adaptation; the use of noninvasive techniques and genomic banks as a resource for monitoring and restoring populations; the structuring of population by physical barriers; and genetic diversity. Further, by integrating research from a variety of areas – including population genetics, molecular ecology, systematics, and evolutionary and conservation biology – it enables readers to gain a deeper understanding of the conservation biology of mammals that are at increasing risk of extinction at local, regional and global scales. As such, it offers a unique resource for a broad readership interested in the conservation biology of mammals and conservation management strategies to better preserve biodiversity.
Download or read book A Practical Guide for Genetic Management of Fragmented Animal and Plant Populations written by Richard Frankham and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2019 with total page 197 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The biological diversity of the planet is being rapidly depleted due to the direct and indirect consequences of human activity. As the size of wild animal and plant populations decreases and fragmentation increases, inbreeding reduces fitness and loss of genetic diversity reduces their ability to adapt to changes in the environment. Many small isolated populations are going extinct unnecessarily. In many cases, such populations can be genetically rescued by gene flow from another population within the species, but this is very rarely done. This book provides a practical guide to the genetic management of fragmented animal and plant populations"--
Download or read book Landscape Genetics written by Niko Balkenhol and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2015-11-09 with total page 298 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: LANDSCAPE GENETICS: CONCEPTS, METHODS, APPLICATIONS LANDSCAPE GENETICS: CONCEPTS, METHODS, APPLICATIONS Edited by Niko Balkenhol, Samuel A. Cushman, Andrew T. Storfer, Lisette P. Waits Landscape genetics is an exciting and rapidly growing field, melding methods and theory from landscape ecology and population genetics to address some of the most challenging and urgent ecological and evolutionary topics of our time. Landscape genetic approaches now enable researchers to study in detail how environmental complexity in space and time affect gene flow, genetic drift, and local adaptation. However, learning about the concepts and methods underlying the field remains challenging due to the highly interdisciplinary nature of the field, which relies on topics that have traditionally been treated separately in classes and textbooks. In this edited volume, some of the leading experts in landscape genetics provide the first comprehensive introduction to underlying concepts, commonly used methods, and current and future applications of landscape genetics. Consistent with the interdisciplinary nature of the field, the book includes textbook-like chapters that synthesize fundamental concepts and methods underlying landscape genetics (Part 1), chapters on advanced topics that deserve a more in-depth treatment (Part 2), and chapters illustrating the use of concepts and methods in empirical applications (Part 3). Aimed at beginning landscape geneticists and experienced researchers alike, this book will be helpful for all scientists and practitioners interested in learning, teaching, and applying landscape genetics.
Download or read book Conservation Biology written by Scott P. Carroll and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2008-09-15 with total page 393 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The main goal of this book is to encourage and formalize the infusion of evolutionary thinking into mainstream conservation biology. It reviews the evolutionary foundations of conservation issues, and unifies conceptual and empirical advances in evolutionary conservation biology. The book can be used either as a primary textbook or as a supplementary reading in an advanced undergraduate or graduate level course - likely to be called Conservation Biology or in some cases Evolutionary Ecology. The focus of chapters is on current concepts in evolution as they pertain to conservation, and the empirical study of these concepts. The balanced treatment avoids exhaustive reviews and overlapping duplication among the chapters. Little background in genetics is assumed of the reader.
Download or read book Conservation and the Genetics of Populations written by Fred W. Allendorf and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2009-03-12 with total page 664 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Conservation and the Genetics of Populations gives acomprehensive overview of the essential background, concepts, andtools needed to understand how genetic information can be used todevelop conservation plans for species threatened withextinction. Provides a thorough understanding of the genetic basis ofbiological problems in conservation. Uses a balance of data and theory, and basic and appliedresearch, with examples taken from both the animal and plantkingdoms. An associated website contains example data sets and softwareprograms to illustrate population genetic processes and methods ofdata analysis. Discussion questions and problems are included at the end ofeach chapter to aid understanding. Features Guest Boxes written by leading people in the fieldincluding James F. Crow, Nancy FitzSimmons, Robert C. Lacy, MichaelW. Nachman, Michael E. Soule, Andrea Taylor, Loren H. Rieseberg,R.C. Vrijenhoek, Lisette Waits, Robin S. Waples and AndrewYoung. Supplementary information designed to support Conservationand the Genetics of Populations including: Downloadable sample chapter Answers to questions and problems Data sets illustrating problems from the book Data analysis software programs Website links An Instructor manual CD-ROM for this title is available. Pleasecontact our Higher Education team at ahref="mailto:[email protected]"[email protected]/afor more information.
