Download or read book Genetics in the Wild written by John C. Avise and published by Smithsonian Institution. This book was released on 2014-05-27 with total page 271 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Award-winning geneticist John C. Avise guides this delightful voyage around the planet in search of answers to nature's mysteries. He demonstrates how scientists directly examine DNA to address long-standing questions about wild animals, plants, and microbes. Through dozens of stories that span the world, nature emerges as a realm where truth can be far stranger than fiction. From a 100-ton mushroom to egg-swapping birds, extinct ground sloths to microbes inside our bodies, Avise examines a cornucopia of natural-history topics and explains how today's modern genetic techniques offer novel insights. Do armadillo litters really contain clones? When is a fig tree not just a single tree? Where have migratory whales traveled? Who are the mothers of the embryos carried by pregnant male seahorses? What insect was the world's earliest farmer? How closely related are Neanderthals to modern humans? Answers to these and many more questions are presented here in a straightforwad manner that reveals Avise's enthusiasm for uncovering nature's hidden ways. Each entry is accompanied by a beautiful illustration from Trudy Nicholson, widely recognized as one of today's leading nature artists.
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 2012-12-17 with total page 636 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Loss of biodiversity is among the greatest problems facing the world today. Conservation and the Genetics of Populations gives a comprehensive overview of the essential background, concepts, and tools needed to understand how genetic information can be used to conserve species threatened with extinction, and to manage species of ecological or commercial importance. New molecular techniques, statistical methods, and computer programs, genetic principles, and methods are becoming increasingly useful in the conservation of biological diversity. Using a balance of data and theory, coupled with basic and applied research examples, this book examines genetic and phenotypic variation in natural populations, the principles and mechanisms of evolutionary change, the interpretation of genetic data from natural populations, and how these can be applied to conservation. The book includes examples from plants, animals, and microbes in wild and captive populations. This second edition contains new chapters on Climate Change and Exploited Populations as well as new sections on genomics, genetic monitoring, emerging diseases, metagenomics, and more. One-third of the references in this edition were published after the first edition. Each of the 22 chapters and the statistical appendix have a Guest Box written by an expert in that particular topic (including James Crow, Louis Bernatchez, Loren Rieseberg, Rick Shine, and Lisette Waits). This book is essential for advanced undergraduate and graduate students of conservation genetics, natural resource management, and conservation biology, as well as professional conservation biologists working for wildlife and habitat management agencies. Additional resources for this book can be found at: www.wiley.com/go/allendorf/populations.
Download or read book Introduction to Conservation Genetics written by Richard Frankham and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2010 with total page 643 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This impressive author team brings the wealth of advances in conservation genetics into the new edition of this introductory text, including new chapters on population genomics and genetic issues in introduced and invasive species. They continue the strong learning features for students - main points in the margin, chapter summaries, vital support with the mathematics, and further reading - and now guide the reader to software and databases. Many new references reflect the expansion of this field. With examples from mammals, birds ...
Download or read book Molecular Approaches in Natural Resource Conservation and Management written by J. Andrew DeWoody and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2010-06-14 with total page 393 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Recent advances in molecular genetics and genomics have been embraced by many in natural resource conservation. Today, several major conservation and management journals are now using 'genetics' editors to deal solely with the influx of manuscripts that employ molecular data. The editors have attempted to synthesize some of the major uses of molecular markers in natural resource management in a book targeted not only at scientists but also at individuals actively making conservation and management decisions. To that end, the text features contributors who are major figures in molecular ecology and evolution - many having published books of their own. The aim is to direct and distil the thoughts of these outstanding scientists by compiling compelling case histories in molecular ecology as they apply to natural resource management.
Download or read book Nature Via Nurture written by Matt Ridley and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2003-04-29 with total page 340 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Following his highly praised and bestselling book Genome: The Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters, Matt Ridley has written a brilliant and profound book about the roots of human behavior. Nature via Nurture explores the complex and endlessly intriguing question of what makes us who we are. In February 2001 it was announced that the human genome contains not 100,000 genes, as originally postulated, but only 30,000. This startling revision led some scientists to conclude that there are simply not enough human genes to account for all the different ways people behave: we must be made by nurture, not nature. Yet again biology was to be stretched on the Procrustean bed of the nature-nurture debate. Matt Ridley argues that the emerging truth is far more interesting than this myth. Nurture depends on genes, too, and genes need nurture. Genes not only predetermine the broad structure of the brain, they also absorb formative experiences, react to social cues, and even run memory. They are consequences as well as causes of the will. Published fifty years after the discovery of the double helix of DNA, Nature via Nurture chronicles a revolution in our understanding of genes. Ridley recounts the hundred years' war between the partisans of nature and nurture to explain how this paradoxical creature, the human being, can be simultaneously free-willed and motivated by instinct and culture. Nature via Nurture is an enthralling,up-to-the-minute account of how genes build brains to absorb experience.
Download or read book Wild Germplasm for Genetic Improvement in Crop Plants written by Muhammad Tehseen Azhar and published by Academic Press. This book was released on 2021-03-10 with total page 408 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Wild Germplasm for Genetic Improvement in Crop Plants addresses the need for an integrated reference on a wide variety of crop plants, facilitating comparison and contrast, as well as providing relevant relationships for future research and development. The book presents the genetic and natural history value of wild relatives, covers what wild relatives exist, explores the existing knowledge regarding specific relatives and the research surrounding them and identifies knowledge gaps. As understanding the role of crop wild relatives in plant breeding expands the genetic pool for abiotic and biotic stress resistance, this is an ideal reference on this important topic. - Provides a single-volume resource to important crops for accessible comparison and research - Explores both conventional and molecular approaches to breeding for targeted traits and allows for expanded genetic variability - Guides the development of hybrids for germplasm with increased tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses
Download or read book Living with Our Genes written by Dean H. Hamer and published by Anchor. This book was released on 1999-02-16 with total page 369 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "A lucid, thought-provoking account of the case for 'nature' as a determinant of personality."—Peter D. Kramer, Author of Listening to Prozac and Should You Leave? Nowhere is the nature-nurture controversy being more arduously tested than in the labs of world-renowned molecular scientist Dean Hamer, whose cutting-edge research has indisputably linked specific genes to behavioral traits, such as anxiety, thrill-seeking, and homosexuality. The culmination of that research is this provocative book, Living with Our Genes. In it, Dr. Hamer reveals that much of our behavior—how much we eat and weigh, whether we drink or use drugs, how often we have sex—is heavily influenced by genes. His findings help explain why one brother becomes a Wall Street trader, while his sibling remains content as a librarian, or why some people like to bungee-jump, while others prefer Scrabble. Dr. Hamer also sheds light on some of the most compelling and vexing aspects of personality, such as shyness, aggression, depression, and intelligence. In the tradition of the bestselling book Listening to Prozac, Living with Our Genes is the first comprehensive investigation of the crucial link between our DNA and our behavior. "Compulsive reading, reminiscent of Jared Diamond, from a scientist who knows his stuff and communicates it well."—Kirkus Reviews "A pioneer in the field of molecular psychology, Hamer is exploring the role genes play in governing the very core of our individuality. Accessible . . . provocative."—Time "Absolutely terrific! I couldn't put it down."—Professor Robert Plomin, Social, Genetic & Developmental Psychiatry Research Center, Institute of Psychiatry
Download or read book Evolution of Wild Emmer and Wheat Improvement written by E. Nevo and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2002-01-29 with total page 400 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Wild emmer is the progenitor of most cultivated wheats and thus an important source of wheat improvement. This book draws the results from multidisciplinary studies on the ecological, genetic, genomic, agronomic, and evolutionary aspects of wild emmer, conducted at many labs around the world. It is divided into the following parts: Origin and Evolution of Wheat - Population Genetics of Wild Emmer Wheat at the Protein and DNA Levels - Genetic Resources of Wild Emmer for Wheat Improvement - Genome Organization and Genetic Mapping - Conclusions and Prospects. The authors describe the evolution of wild emmer as a model organism of a selfer in evolutionary biology, and its rich potential genetic resources for wheat improvement.
Download or read book Gene Drives on the Horizon written by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2016-08-28 with total page 231 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Research on gene drive systems is rapidly advancing. Many proposed applications of gene drive research aim to solve environmental and public health challenges, including the reduction of poverty and the burden of vector-borne diseases, such as malaria and dengue, which disproportionately impact low and middle income countries. However, due to their intrinsic qualities of rapid spread and irreversibility, gene drive systems raise many questions with respect to their safety relative to public and environmental health. Because gene drive systems are designed to alter the environments we share in ways that will be hard to anticipate and impossible to completely roll back, questions about the ethics surrounding use of this research are complex and will require very careful exploration. Gene Drives on the Horizon outlines the state of knowledge relative to the science, ethics, public engagement, and risk assessment as they pertain to research directions of gene drive systems and governance of the research process. This report offers principles for responsible practices of gene drive research and related applications for use by investigators, their institutions, the research funders, and regulators.
Download or read book Genetics and the Behavior of Domestic Animals written by Temple Grandin and published by Academic Press. This book was released on 2013-04-22 with total page 496 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Behavior is shaped by both genetics and experience--nature and nurture. This book synthesizes research from behavioral genetics and animal and veterinary science, bridging the gap between these fields. The objective is to show that principles of behavioral genetics have practical applications to agricultural and companion animals. The continuing domestication of animals is a complex process whose myriad impacts on animal behavior are commonly under-appreciated. Genetic factors play a significant role in both species-specific behaviors and behavioral differences exhibited by individuals in the same species. Leading authorities explore the impact of increased intensities of selection on domestic animal behavior. Rodents, cattle, pigs, sheep, horses, herding and guard dogs, and poultry are all included in these discussions of genetics and behavior, making this book useful to veterinarians, livestock producers, laboratory animal researchers and technicians, animal trainers and breeders, and any researcher interested in animal behavior. - Includes four new chapters on dog and fox behavior, pig behavior, the effects of domestication and horse behavior - Synthesizes research from behavioral genetics, animal science, and veterinary literature - Broaches fields of behavior genetics and behavioral research - Includes practical applications of principles discovered by behavioral genetics researchers - Covers many species ranging from pigs, dogs, foxes, rodents, cattle, horses, and cats
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 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 Genes Genesis and God written by Holmes Rolston and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 1999-02-13 with total page 420 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book argues that the phenomena of religion can not be reduced to the phenomena of biology.
Download or read book Practical Genetics for Aquaculture written by C. Greg Lutz and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2008-04-15 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Over recent years there have been major advances in the application of molecular, biotechnological and genetic techniques to a wide range of aquatic species. Until now, many working in a hands-on capacity in the area of aquaculture have not known what the benefits of this work could be to them. This important new book redresses this situation, providing clear details of the available scientific information and the direct application of techniques under simple and practical situations.
Download or read book Genetics and the Origin of Species written by Theodosius Dobzhansky and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 364 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Natural History of Inbreeding and Outbreeding written by Nancy Wilmsen Thornhill and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 1993-08-15 with total page 583 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Inbreeding, the mating of close kin, and outbreeding, the mating of distant relatives or unrelated organisms, have long been important subjects to evolutionary biologists. Inbreeding reduces genetic diversity in a population, increasing the likelihood that genetic defects will become widespread and deprive a population of the diversity it may need to cope with its environment. Most plants and animals have evolved behavioral and morphological mechanisms to avoid inbreeding. However, today many endangered species exist only in small, very isolated populations where inbreeding is unavoidable, so it has become a concern for conservationists. In this volume, twenty-six experts in evolution, behavior, and genetics examine the causes and consequences of inbreeding. The authors ask whether inbreeding is as problematic as biologists have thought, under what ecological conditions inbreeding occurs, and whether organisms that inbreed have mechanisms to dampen the anticipated problems of reduced genetic variation. The studies, including theoretical and empirical work on wild and captive populations, demonstrate that many plants and animals inbreed to a greater extent than biologists have thought, with variable effects on individual fitness. Graduate students and researchers in evolutionary biology, animal behavior, ecology, and conservation biology will welcome this wide-ranging collection.
