Introduction to Population Biology

Dick Neal is Professor Emeritus at the University of Saskatchewan, Canada, having taught undergraduate ecology for almost forty years. His thesis on Ugandan rodents was conducted at the Nuffield Unit of Tropical Ecology in Uganda, and he continued this research on the breeding of African rodents with sabbaticals in National Parks in Kenya (1974–5) and Zimbabwe, (1987–88, 1990). Other research areas have included the impacts of uranium mine effluent on aquatic ecosystems; effects on the structure and function of plankton communities; and the bioremediation of contaminated pits.

Preface; Acknowledgements; Part I. Evolution by Natural Selection: 1. Darwin questions the fixity of species; 2. Darwin's evolutionary theories; 3. Understanding natural selection; Part II. Population Growth Models: 4. Exponential growth; 5. Logistic growth; 6. Life tables; 7. Growth of age-structured and stage-structured populations; 8. Evolution of life histories; Part III. Population Genetics and Evolution; 9. The Hardy-Weinberg principle; 10. Mutation and the genetic variation of populations; 11. Genetic drift and effective population size; 12. Inbreeding; 13. Migration, gene flow and differentiation of populations; 14. Haploid and zygotic selection; 15. Applying zygotic selection models to natural systems; 16. Polygenic inheritance and quantitative genetics; 17. Population genetics: summary and synthesis; Part IV. Interactions between Species, and Community Structure: 18. Interspecific competition; 19. Predator-prey interactions; 20. Species interactions and community structure; Part V. Animal Behaviour, Altruism, and Sexual Selection: 21. Animal behaviour, altruism, and limiting aggression; 22. Sexual selection and mating systems; 23. Epilogue; Glossary; Solutions to problems; References; Index.