Introduction to Population Biology 2nd Edition

How do plant and animal populations change genetically to evolve and adapt to their local environments? How do populations grow and interact with one another through competition and predation? How does behaviour influence ecology and evolution? This second edition of Dick Neal’s unique textbook on population biology addresses these questions and offers a comprehensive analysis of evolutionary theory in the areas of ecology, population genetics, and behaviour. Taking a quantitative and Darwinian perspective, Neal uses mathematical models to develop the basic theory of population processes. Key features in this edition include new chapters on inbreeding and species interactions and community structure, a modified structure in Part II, more recent empirical examples to illustrate the application of theoretical models to the world around us, and end-of-chapter problems to help students with self-assessment. A series of spreadsheet simulations have also been conveniently located online, for students to further improve their understanding of such models.

Offers a quantitative and Darwinian perspective on population biology
The book expressly links evolutionary processes with those of ecology
The book is packed full of worked examples and problem sets with solutions
Gives a broad treatment of the basic theory of natural selection, population genetics, population ecology and behavioural ecology

Table of Contents
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.

Author
Dick Neal, University of Saskatchewan, Canada
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.