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35 - Ecological Genetics
- Edited by Michael Ruse, Florida State University
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- Book:
- The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Darwin and Evolutionary Thought
- Published online:
- 05 May 2013
- Print publication:
- 28 February 2013, pp 293-299
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Summary
Ecological genetics is a field of biology at the intersection of genetics, ecology, and evolution that emerged during the early 1930s in Britain and is particularly associated with the research of E. B. Ford, H. B. D. Kettlewell, A. J. Cain, P. M. Sheppard, C. A. Clarke, and their numerous intellectual descendants (Fig. 35.1). Ford (1964, xi), the self-identified inventor of the field, defined it as “the experimental study of evolution and adaptation, carried out by means of combined field-work and laboratory genetics.” It is devoted to the study of the genetics of adaptations, that is, traits affecting survival and reproduction, and the ecological processes that affect the distribution and evolution of these genes in natural populations.
Connection to Darwin
There is an obvious sense in which Charles Darwin is the progenitor of the modern biological field known as ecological genetics. Darwin’s Origin of Species drew attention to the ubiquitous presence of heritable variation in nature, the power of natural selection as an explanatory agent in accounting for the origin and maintenance of biological adaptations, and the importance of studying living organisms by means of biogeographical patterns of distribution. Darwin was also an early and important pioneer and advocate of the systematic use of experimental methods in the study of natural history. Ecological geneticists certainly see themselves as intellectual descendants of Darwin in that they often position their work as providing experimental confirmation of his theory of evolution by natural selection.
Contributors
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- By Graeme J.M. Alexander, Heung Bae Kim, Michael Burch, Andrew J. Butler, Tanveer Butt, Roy Calne, Edward Cantu, Robert B. Colvin, Paul Corris, Charles Crawley, Hiroshi Date, Francis L. Delmonico, Bimalangshu R. Dey, Kate Drummond, John Dunning, John D. Firth, John Forsythe, Simon M. Gabe, Robert S. Gaston, William Gelson, Paul Gibbs, Alex Gimson, Leo C. Ginns, Samuel Goldfarb, Ryoichi Goto, Walter K. Graham, Simon J.F. Harper, Koji Hashimoto, David G. Healy, Hassan N. Ibrahim, David Ip, Fadi G. Issa, Neville V. Jamieson, David P. Jenkins, Dixon B. Kaufman, Kiran K. Khush, Heung Bae Kim, Andrew A. Klein, John Klinck, Camille Nelson Kotton, Vineeta Kumar, Yael B. Kushner, D. Frank. P. Larkin, Clive J. Lewis, Yvonne H. Luo, Richard S. Luskin, Ernest I. Mandel, James F. Markmann, Lorna Marson, Arthur J. Matas, Mandeep R. Mehra, Stephen J. Middleton, Giorgina Mieli-Vergani, Charles Miller, Sharon Mulroy, Faruk Özalp, Can Ozturk, Jayan Parameshwar, J.S. Parmar, Hari K. Parthasarathy, Nick Pritchard, Cristiano Quintini, Axel O. Rahmel, Chris J. Rudge, Stephan V.B. Schueler, Maria Siemionow, Jacob Simmonds, Peter Slinger, Thomas R. Spitzer, Stuart C. Sweet, Nina E. Tolkoff-Rubin, Steven S.L. Tsui, Khashayar Vakili, R.V. Venkateswaran, Hector Vilca-Melendez, Vladimir Vinarsky, Kathryn J. Wood, Heidi Yeh, David W. Zaas, Jonathan G. Zaroff
- Edited by Andrew A. Klein, Clive J. Lewis, Joren C. Madsen
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- Book:
- Organ Transplantation
- Published online:
- 07 September 2011
- Print publication:
- 11 August 2011, pp vii-x
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