Bücher der Reihe Oxford Series in Ecology and Evolution

An analysis of the evolutionary implication of symmetry which puts forward the theory that asymmetry is related to genetic stability and fitness, so that symmetric individuals have quantifiable advantages over asymmetric individuals. The book is primarily aimed at students and researchers and is part of the OXFORD SERIES IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION.

The application of molecular technology has greatly increased our understanding of the role of chromosomal change in plant evolution. This book addresses issues such as heterogeneity, chromosomal rearrangements within species and phenotypic consequences of chromosome doubling.

This book describes the models, methods and algorithms that are most useful for analysing the ever-increasing supply of molecular sequence data, with a view to furthering our understanding of the evolution of genes and genomes.

Random fluctuations in population dynamics are fundamentally important in pure and applied ecology. This text introduces demographic and environmental stochasticity and illustrates statistical methods for estimating them from field data.

Adaptive radiation, a process that has given rise to much of life's diversity, occurs when a single ancestral species diversifies into an impressive array of species. This book focuses on the 'ecological theory' of adaptive radiation, a body of ideas that began with Darwin and was developed through the first half of the 20th century.

Crozier and Pamilo's contribution it to analyse the genetic basis of the patterns of reproduction and resource allocation found in social insect colonies - bees, wasps, ants, and termites. This is done much more comprehensively and with greater depth and insight than in any previous study, and is a significant step forward in the fields of social evolution and population genetics.

This text examines advances in our understanding of the population dynamics of interactions between insect parasitoids and their hosts. Topics addressed include how host-parasitoid interactions are influenced by spatial processes, by age-structure effects, and by competition from other species.

This is an integration of empirical data and theory in quantitative ecology and evolution through the use of mathematical models and statistical methods.

Presents an account of the evolutionary ecology of the guppy. This book shows how guppies provided some of the first evidence of sperm competition and sexual selection, and how they inform scientific thought on mating systems and cryptic choice. It is useful to students and researchers in the fields of behavioural ecology and evolutionary biology.

Population dynamics and animal behaviour are two subjects which have developed almost independently. This book provides a framework for combining these two subjects and shows how to consider a range of conservation issues. It is aimed at students and researchers in animal behaviour, population ecology, and conservation biology.

Birds show bewildering diversity in their life histories, mating systems and risk of extinction. Why, for example, are fairy-wrens so sexually promiscuous while swans show life long monogamy? This fascinating book is a comprehensive re-appraisal of avian diversity, and is the most extensive application of modern comparative methods yet undertaken.

Gives an account of the mating systems of the dunnock or hedge sparrow, Prunella modularis, which include pairs, a male with two females, two males with one female, and several males with several females. This work provides a visual summary of the birds' behaviour, and is useful for students of ecology, evolution, and animal behaviour.

Group living is a widespread phenomenon amongst animals. This book focuses on the unifying concepts regarding group behaviour. It discusses the mechanisms that govern the evolution and maintenance of grouping behaviour throughout the animal kingdom, and the factors that control observed group size and group composition in particular situations.

Presents data on tropical wasps which suggests that kin-selection has been over-emphasized as an evolutionary explanation of sociality. This book discusses the significance of multi-queen colonies and the evolutionary pathways that may have led to observed social patterns.

This study constitutes an empirical text of the theoretical predictions, and should be of special interest to students on behavioural and evolutionary ecology. The main theme is that sexual selection is important, and affects many aspects of animal life such as mating behaviour and parental care.

Provides a synthesis of quantitative information on the ecology of the brown trout, including sea-trout, and comparisons with closely related species. Much of this work is relevant to general problems in quantitative animal ecology as well as to fisheries management.

Recent research in biomechanics is increasingly revealing a set of special cases where universal physical laws constrain the trajectories and, more controversially, even the endpoints of the evolutionary process. For the first time this book brings together a broad range of examples from the latest research in evolutionary biomechanics to examine this phenomenon.

Discusses the structure of the geographic ranges of species. This book is concerned with the factors that determine the limits to a species' geographic range, how the sizes of those ranges vary, and patterns in that variation. It also considers the distribution of individuals amongst those sites where a species does occur.

This work deals with the ecological effect a species can have when it moves into an environment that it has not previously occupied (commonly referred to as an "invasion"). It presents an accessible introduction to a highly complex area - the modelling of biological invasions.