Ebook: Molecular Ecology and Evolution: Approaches and Applications

The past 25 years have witnessed a revolution in the way ecologists and evolutionary biologists approach their disciplines. Modern molecular techniques are now reshaping the spectrum of questions that can be addressed while studying the mechanisms and consequences of the ecology and evolution of living organisms. "Molecular Ecology and Evolution: Approaches and Applications" describes, from a molecular perspective, several methodological and technical approaches used in the fields of ecology, evolution, population biology, molecular systematics, conservation genetics, and development. Modern techniques are introduced, and older, more classic ones refined. The advantages, limitations, and potentials of each are discussed in detail, and thereby illustrate the widening range of cross-field research and applications which this modern technology is stimulating. This book will serve as an important textbook for graduate and advanced undergraduate students, and as a key reference work for researchers.

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Content:
Front Matter....Pages i-xi
Front Matter....Pages 1-3
Arbitrary primer mediated fingerprinting in plants: Case studies in plant breeding, taxonomy and phylogeny....Pages 5-15
DNA amplification fingerprinting: A general tool with applications in breeding, identification and phylogenetic analysis of plants....Pages 17-31
The analysis of simple repeat loci as applied in evolutionary and behavioral sciences....Pages 33-43
Multilocus DNA fingerprinting and genetic relatedness in plants: A case study with banana and tomato....Pages 45-59
Measuring reproductive success in insects....Pages 61-74
Unravelling the components that underlie insect reproductive traits using a simple molecular approach....Pages 75-90
Molecular analysis of kinship in birds: Interesting questions and useful techniques....Pages 91-126
Front Matter....Pages 127-129
Molecular techniques in population genetics: A brief history....Pages 131-156
The use of microsatellite analysis in population biology: Background, methods and potential applications....Pages 157-183
The use of microsatellites for genetic analysis of natural populations....Pages 185-201
PCR assays of variable nucleotide sites for identification of conservation units....Pages 203-214
Concerted evolution and RAPping in mitochondrial VNTRs and the molecular geography of cricket populations....Pages 215-226
Molecular markers and evolutionary processes in hermaphrodite freshwater snails....Pages 227-245
Perspective on conservation genetics....Pages 247-260
Front Matter....Pages 261-273
Advances in the theory and practice of DNA-hybridization as a systematic method....Pages 275-280
Allozymes in mammalian population genetics and systematics: Indicative function of a marker system reconsidered....Pages 281-284
Analysis of DNA from natural history museum collections....Pages 285-297
Sources of ambiguity in nucleic acid sequence alignment....Pages 299-310
Front Matter....Pages 311-321
Computational problems in molecular systematics....Pages 323-352
The comparison of morphological and molecular data in phylogenetic systematics....Pages 281-284
Non-coding chloroplast DNA for plant molecular systematics at the infrageneric level....Pages 353-370
Developing model systems for molecular biogeography: Vicariance and interchange in marine invertebrates....Pages 371-390
Bridging phylogenetics and population genetics with gene tree models....Pages 391-403
Front Matter....Pages 405-433
The role of molecular genetics in speciation studies....Pages 435-449
Diversity within diversity: Molecular approaches to studying microbial interactions with insects....Pages 451-454
Developmental genes and the origin and evolution of Metazoa....Pages 455-477
To what extent does genetic information determine structural characteristics and document homologies?....Pages 479-493
Evolution and multi-functionality of the chitin system....Pages 495-508
Genome evolution: Between the nucleosome and the chromosome....Pages 509-524
Individual genes underlying quantitative traits: Molecular and analytical methods....Pages 525-536
Perspectives on future applications of experimental biology to evolution....Pages 537-549
Back Matter....Pages 551-558
....Pages 559-577