In Focus
1 total work
The advent of powerful molecular techniques for uncovering naturally occurring genetic variation has greatly facilitated the understanding of problems in behavioural ecology and population biology. The correct interpretation of these data requires an understanding of both the internal mutational processes within nuclear and organelle genomes, and the external processes of selection and the drift that affect the standing level of genetic variation. This book concisely describes the underlying sources of genomic variation, how they can be detected and analyzed (with an emphasis on modern techniques like PCR and DNA fingerprinting), and how to interpret observed variation, taking into account the variety of contributing factors. Examples of applications of molecular genetics in behavioural ecology and population genetics are drawn from current literature. "Molecular Genetic Ecology" introduces a quickly emerging discipline in a way that should be both accessible to students, and informative to researchers in related fields.