Conservation and the Genetics of Populations

Conservation and the Genetics of Populations
Fred W. Allendorf, Gordon Luikart
Paperback
664 pages
June 2006
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 develop conservation plans for species threatened with extinction.

• Provides a thorough understanding of the genetic basis of biological problems in conservation.
• Uses a balance of data and theory, and basic and applied research, with examples taken from both the animal and plant kingdoms.
• An associated website contains example data sets and software programs to illustrate population genetic processes and methods of data analysis.
• Discussion questions and problems are included at the end of each chapter to aid understanding.
• Features Guest Boxes written by leading people in the field including James F. Crow, Nancy FitzSimmons, Robert C. Lacy, Michael W. Nachman, Michael E. Soule, Andrea Taylor, Loren H. Rieseberg, R.C. Vrijenhoek, Lisette Waits, Robin S. Waples and Andrew Young.

Table of Contents

PART I: INTRODUCTION.

1. Introduction.

2. Phenotypic Variation in Natural Populations.

3. Genetic Variation in Natural Populations: Chromosomes and Proteins.

4. Genetic Variation in Natural Populations: DNA.

PART II: MECHANISMS OF EVOLUTIONARY CHANGE.

5. Random Mating Populations: Hardy-Weinberg Principle.

6. Small Populations and Genetic Drift.

7. Effective Population Size.

8. Natural Selection.

9. Population Subdivision.

10. Multiple Loci.

11. Quantitative Genetics.

12. Mutation.

PART III: GENETICS AND CONSERVATION.

13. Inbreeding Depression.

14. Demography and Extinction.

15. Metapopulations and Fragmentation.

16. Units of Conservation.

17. Hybridization.

18. Conservation Breeding and Restoration.

19. Invasive Species.

20. Forensic and Management Applications of Genetic Identification.

Glossary.

Appendix: Probability and Statistics.

References.

Index