The status of population genetics, a mathematical version of evolutionary theory, has become hotly debated among biologists and philosophers. Many seem to view population genetics as unchanged since the Modern Synthesis (i.e., since the 1940s), and have argued that subjects such as development were left out of the Synthesis. Some have called for an extended evolutionary synthesis or for recogni...

Understanding how population-level dynamics contribute to ecosystem-level processes is a primary focus of ecological research and has led to important breakthroughs in the ecology of macroscopic organisms. However, the inability to measure population-specific rates, such as growth, for microbial taxa within natural assemblages has limited ecologists’ understanding of how microbial populations i...

Mark–recapture studies indicate that Bufo marinus populations introduced into Australia tend to attain densities much higher than those reported in native habitats in South America. Moreover, its high rate of spread into northern Australia is raising concerns about the local fauna. The major ecological factors contributing to the observed differences in density are unknown. A population model b...

We used logistic regression to derive scaled resource selection functions (RSFs) for female black bears at two study areas in the North Cascades Mountains. We tested the hypothesis that the influence of roads would result in potential habitat effectiveness (RSFs without the influence of roads) being greater than realized habitat effectiveness (RSFs with roads). Roads consistently had a negative...

J. Chave Laboratoire Evolution et Diversité Biologique, CNRS and Université Paul Sabatier, bâtiment 4R3, 118 route de Narbonne, F-31062 Toulouse, France Correspondence: E-mail: [email protected] Abstract I review the mathematical and biological aspects of Hubbell’s (2001) neutral theory of species abundance for ecological communities, and clarify its historical connections with closely related appr...

Why does cooperation abound in Nature? Why are there so many coexisting species and not just a few dominant ones? These are issues of paramount importance in biology and ecology and are among the “big questions facing science” [1]. In fact, while there are many examples of cooperative behaviour in Nature, these are challenges to Darwinian evolution since altruism increases the fitness of a popu...

Many populations exhibit pronounced spatial structure: dispersed areas of high population density embedded in areas of low density, with population centers connected through dispersal. This recognition has led many conservation biologists to embrace the metapopulation concept (Levins 1970) as the appropriate paradigm for reserve design structures (reviewed in Hanski 1991 and Harrison 1994). Thi...

Reliable analyses can help wildlife managers make good decisions, which are particularly critical for controversial decisions such as wolf (Canis lupus) harvest. Creel and Rotella (2010) recently predicted substantial population declines in Montana wolf populations due to harvest, in contrast to predictions made by Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (MFWP). We replicated their analyses considerin...

A person must have a heart of stone to glimpse a butterfly flickering in flight across a sun-dappled field, and not feel a little frisson of simple joy at the sight. The editors of this useful and timely compendium in their introductory remarks (Pe’er and Settele, 2008a, this issue) aptly observe that much of the public’s sympathy for butterfly conservation comes from the “beauty and charisma o...

Understanding the processes and patterns of gene flow and local adaptation requires a detailed knowledge of how landscape characteristics structure populations. This understanding is crucial, not only for improving ecological knowledge, but also for managing properly the genetic diversity of threatened and endangered populations. For nearly 80 years, population geneticists have investigated how...