Repetitive DNA sequences form a large portion of the genomes of eukaryotes. The'selfish
DNA'hypothesis proposes that they are maintained by their ability to replicate within the …

Conservation genetics is the application of genetics to understand and reduce the risk of
population and species extinctions. It deals with genetic factors causing rarity …

Artificial selection is the selection of advantageous natural variation for human ends and is
the mechanism by which most domestic species evolved. Most domesticates have their …

Attempts to study the genetic population structure of large mammals are often hampered by
the low levels of genetic variation observed in these species. Polar bears have particularly …

Individual identification using DNA fingerprinting methods is emerging as a critical tool in
conservation genetics and molecular ecology. Statistical methods that estimate the …

Noninvasive sampling allows genetic studies of free-ranging animals without the need to
capture or even observe them, and thus allows questions to be addressed that cannot be …

In many situations prey choice by predators in the field cannot be established or quantified
using direct observation. The remains of some prey may be visually identified in the guts and …

A series of recent genetic studies has revealed the remarkably complex picture of
domestication in both New World and Old World livestock. By comparing mitochondrial and …

Population‐genetic studies have been remarkably productive and successful in the last
decade following the invention of PCR technology and the introduction of mitochondrial and …

The study of evolution at the molecular level has given the subject of evolutionary biology a
new significance. Phylogenetic'trees' of gene sequences are a powerful tool for recovering …