Adaptive Genetic Variation in the Wild

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.

Table of Contents:
1: Peter R. Grant and B. Rosemary Grant: Quantitative Genetic Variation in Populations of Darwin's Finches 2: Barry Sinervo: Adaptation, Natural Selection, and Optimal Life History Allocation 3: Beren W. Robinson and Dolph Schluter: Natural Selection and the Evolution of Adaptive Genetic Variation in Northern Freshwater Fishes 4: Ruedi G. Nager, Lukas F. Keller, and Arie J. van Noordwijk: Understanding Natural Selection on Traits that are Influenced by Environmental Conditions 5: Susan Mopper, Keli Landau, and Peter Van Zandt: Adaptive Evolution and Neutral Variation in a Wild Leafminer Metapopulation 6: Thomas B. Smith and Derek J. Girman: Reaching New Adaptive Peaks: Evolution of Alternative Adaptive Bill Forms in an African Finch 7: Susan J. Mazer and Daniel E. Meade: Geographic Variation in Flower Size in Wild Radish: The Potential Role of Pollinators in Population Differentiation 8: Kermit Ritland: Detecting Inheritance with Inferred Relatedness in Nature 9: Ary A. Hoffmann: Laboratory and Field Heritabilities: Some Lessons From Drosophila 10: Timothy A. Mousseau: Intra- and Interpopulation Genetic Variation: Explaining the Past and Predicting the Future 11: John A. Endler: Adaptive Genetic Variation in the Wild

Review :
"The eleven chapters...deal with summaries of work on intra- and interpopulation variation in specific organisms, including Darwin's finches, leafminers, and Drosophila. The book is a relatively thorough review of patterns of expressed genetic variation in natural populations and a summary of the methods (including molecular ones) for measuring genetic various in the wild." -- Evolution, Vol 54(3), 2000 "This volume is a very useful statement of the current state of field studies on adaptive variation. Several of the chapters give clear summaries of some of the definitive studies by key researchers and, as such, provide an effective shortcul to the primary literature." -- Ecology "The central premise of the book is that a complete understanding of adaptive genetic variation can only emerge from careful, long-term studies of natural populations. Each chapter in this multi-authored volume focuses on a different 'model system' that provides insights into the origin and maintenance of adaptive genetic variation in the wild. . . .this bok is a valuable guide on testing Darwin's postulates in the wild."--Trends in Ecology & Evolution "Adaptive Genetic Variation in the Wild proposes the idea that a fundamental objective of evolutionary ecology is to predict individual, population, community, and ecosystem response to environmental. . . .This book is therefore an essential tool for professionals and graduate students in genetics, biology, ecology, and evolution." -- Biology Digest "The eleven chapters...deal with summaries of work on intra- and interpopulation variation in specific organisms, including Darwin's finches, leafminers, and Drosophila. The book is a relatively thorough review of patterns of expressed genetic variation in natural populations and a summary of the methods (including molecular ones) for measuring genetic various in the wild." -- Evolution, Vol 54(3), 2000 "Adaptive Genetic Variation in the Wild highlights successful applications of quantitative genetic techniques to discern adaptive genetic variation in the wild. These case studies demonstrate the ubiquity of genetic variation for ecologically important traits in diverse organisms. As such, the book lays the groundwork for future research on questions that are outlined in a final chapter by Endler. A number of these questions are longstanding, such as how within-population genetic variation is transplanted into variation among populations and variation among species, what mechanisms maintain genetic variation in the face of selection, and to what extent changing environments and genotype X environment interactions influence and maintain variation. These and other research questions clearly require careful measurement of genetic variation in the field, and this book provides some good examples that should serve as models for future work."--Evolution, Vol 55(8), 2001 "Adaptive Genetic Variation in the Wild proposes the idea that a fundamental objective of evolutionary ecology is to predict individual, population, community, and ecosystem response to environmental chance. . .This book is. . .an essential tool for professionals and graduate students in genetics, biology, ecology, and evolution."--Biology Digest "The central premeis in the book is that a complete understanding of adaptive genetic variation can only emerge from careful, long-term studies of natural populations. Each chapterinthis mulitauthored volume focuses on a different 'model system' that provides insights inot the origin and maintenance of adaptive genetic variation in the wild. . .this book is a valuable guide on testing Darwin's postulates in the world."--TRENDS "This volume assesses the state of understanding of key issues in conservation genetics how much genetic variation exists in wild populations, what measure of adaptive robustness is conferred by genetic variation within populations, and what the methods are for monitoring genetic variation within populations."--CAB Abstratcts