Introduction to Population Genetics Theory

by James F. Crow, Motoo Kimura

This textbook, originally published in 1970, presents the field of population genetics, starting with elementary concepts and leading the reader well into the field. It is concerned mainly with population genetics in a strict sense and deals primarily with natural populations and less fully with the rather similar problems that arise in breading livestock and cultivated plans. The emphasis is on the behavior of genes and population attributes under natural selection where the most important measure is Darwinian fitness. This text is intended for graduate students and advanced undergraduates in genetics and population biology This book steers a middle course between completely verbal biological arguments and the rigor of the mathematician. The first two-thirds of the book do not require advanced mathematical background. An ordinary knowledge of calculus will suffice. The latter parts of the book, which deal with population stochastically, use more advanced methods. Chapter 1. Models of population growth. 2. Randomly mating populations. 3. Inbreeding. 4. Correlation between relatives and assertive mating 5. Selection. 6. Populations in approximate equilibrium. 7. Properties of a finite population. 8. Stochastic processes in the change of gene frequencies. 9. Distribution of gene frequencies in populations. Appendix. Some statistical and mathematical methods frequently used in population genetics. Bibliography. Glossary. Index.

Genres: Science, Biology, Nonfiction

591 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1970

Reviews

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

If I could give it more stars I would. Not only is this book technically excellent (well, there is *one* error that took something like 25 years to be noticed), but it is just such a comfortable book to read. The symbols are well chosen, good typesetting, and the prose just pulls you along. The section on the Kolmogorov processes spans a huge range, from explaining and motivating the basic concepts to rigorous mathematics. Each time I go back to it I find something new and wonderful.