Population Genetics and Ecology

Population Genetics and Ecology

  • Submitted By: DannyTan
  • Date Submitted: 01/13/2012 11:37 PM
  • Category: Science
  • Words: 315
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Population Genetics and Ecology
Philip Hedrick
OUTLINE
1.
Introduction
2.
Genetic drift and effective population size
3.
Neutral theory
4.
Gene flow and population structure
5.
Selection
6.
Future directions
About 40 years ago, scientists first strongly advocated the integration of population ecology and population genetics into population biology (Singh and Uyenoyama, 2004). Even today these two disciplines are not really integrated, but there is a general appreciation of population genetic concepts in population ecology and vice versa. For example, the new subdiscipline molecular ecology, and many articles in the journal Molecular Ecology, use genetic markers and principles to examine both ecological and evolutionary questions. Although some aspects of population genetics have changed quickly in recent years, many of its fundamentals are still important for aspects of ecological study.
GLOSSARY
coalescence. The point at which common ancestry for two alleles at a gene occurs in the past.
effective population size. An ideal population that incorporates such factors as variation in the sex ratio of breeding individuals, the offspring number per individual, and numbers of breeding individuals in different generations.
gene flow. Movement between groups that results in genetic exchange.
genetic bottleneck. A period during which only a few individuals survive and become the only ancestors of the future generations of the population.
genetic drift. Chance changes in allele frequencies that result from small population size. Hardy-Weinberg principle. After one generation of random mating, single-locus genotype frequencies
can be represented as a binomial function of the allele
frequencies. neutral theory. Genetic change is primarily the result of
mutation and genetic drift, and different molecular
genotypes are neutral with respect to each other. population. A group of interbreeding individuals that
exist together in time and space. selective...

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