Quantitative Genetic Studies Of Behavioral Evolution

Quantitative geneticsthe statistical study of the inheritance of traitswithin a populationhas become an important tool for studying the evolution ofbehavior in ... » 

Quantitative geneticsthe statistical study of the inheritance of traitswithin a populationhas become an important tool for studying the evolution ofbehavior in the last decade. Quantitative Genetic Studies of BehavioralEvolution examines the theory and methods of quantitative genetics and presentscase studies that illustrate the many ways in which the methods can be applied.Christine R. B. Boake brings together current theoretical and empirical studiesto show how quantitative genetics can illuminate topics as diverse as sexualselection migration sociality and aggressive behavior. Nearly half of thechapters focus on conceptual issues ranging from quantitative genetic modelsto the complementary roles of quantitative genetic and optimality approaches inevolutionary studies. Other chapters illustrate how to use the techniques byproviding surveys of research fields such as the evolution of mating behaviorsexual selection migration and sizedependent behavioral variation. Thebalance of the volume offers case studies of territoriality in fruit fliescannibalism in flour beetles mateattractive traits in crickets locomotorbehavior and physiology in the garter snake and cold adaptation in the housemouse. Taken together these studies document both the benefits and pitfalls ofquantitative genetics.This book shows the advanced student and scholar of behavioral evolution andgenetics the many powerful uses of quantitative genetics in behavioralresearch. «