BIOL 4401

(3 Credits) 3 Lecture hours This course is an introduction to the major results and methods of population genetics, as applied to conservation and biodiversity. Topics will include Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, mutation, selection, linkage disequilibrium, genetic variation in natural populations, random genetic drift, effective population size, gene genealogies and coalescent theory, genetic relatedness, inbreeding, population genetic structure, quantitative inheritance. Relevant theory will be developed from first principles and will be illustrated with examples from natural and experimental populations. Lectures will be complemented by computer simulations, and will stress the application of theory for the conservation of natural populations, as illustrated by selected groups of organisms.