Evolutionary Genetics

For natural selection to proceed there must be heritable variation in phenotypes and the variation in phenotype must be associated with differential survival and/or reproduction (must be differential fitness). Then, any entities exhibiting heritable variation in rates of reproduction can evolve. In terms of entities that can be heritable we can consider genes, chromosomes, genomes, individuals, groups, demes, populations, species, etc. Each of these entities meets the requirements of units that...

Sexual selection occurs because there is a correlation between the gender of an individual and its parental investment in each offspring. Those notes explain the following topics: investment in gametes, parental care, multiple mating, Zahavi handicap model, Lande / Kirkpatrick model, sexual conflict, balance between natural selection and sexual selection. Includes graphs and examples.

Those notes explain: - species concepts: morphological, evolutionary, biological, phylogenetic, recognition, cohesion & the advantages/disadvantages of each - isolating mechanisms: permeating, postdating, population structure, geographic variation, sibling species, geography of speciation

The subjects discussed are: sources of variation, genetic variation, variation within a population, polygenes, population divergence, the species and higher taxa levels. A lot of definitions, examples and in depth explanations for a clear understanding of population genetics.

Natural selection is the primary organizing principle in evolution. In those notes, you will find information with examples on the different kinds of adaptations, fitness, drift etc.

Those notes guide you through the subjects of natural selection, the basic model of viability selection, relative fitness and the different types of selection.