Pigliucci, M. (2004) Natural selection and its limits: Where ecology meets evolution. In: Casagrandi, R. & Melià, P. (Eds.) Ecologia. Atti del XIII Congresso Nazionale della Società Italiana di Ecologia (Como, 8-10 settembre 2003). Aracne, Roma, p. 29-34.

Abstract:

Natural selection [Darwin 1859] is perhaps the most important component of evolutionary theory, since it is the only known process that can bring about the adaptation of living organisms to their environments [Gould 2002]. And yet, its study is conceptually and methodologically complex, and much attention needs to be paid to a variety of phenomena that can limit the efficacy of selection [Antonovics 1976; Pigliucci and Kaplan 2000]. In this essay, I will use examples of recent work carried out in my laboratory to illustrate basic research on natural selection as conducted using a variety of approaches, including field work, laboratory experiments, and molecular genetics. I also discuss the application of this array of tools to questions pertinent to conservation biology, and in particular to the all-important problem of what makes invasive species so good at creating the sort of  problems they are infamous for [Lee 2002].

Full text at:

http://www.xiiicongresso.societaitalianaecologia.org/articles/Pigliucci.pdf

John Latter

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technorati tags: natural+selection, ecology, evolution, darwin, gould, research, genetics