In the concluding chapter of his famous book on the theory of evolution
by natural selection, Charles Darwin (1859) remarked that: When the
views entertained in this volume on the origin of species, or when
analogous views are generally admitted, we can dimly foresee that there
will be a considerable revolution in natural history. This proved, of
course, to be completely correct. At present there is a great divergence
of opinion about the general importance of natural selection in the
evolutionary process. Nevertheless, biologists are, on the whole, united
in their acceptance of the potential power of selection in changing
populations. Given this situation, it is not surprising to find that
many attempts to detect the effects of natural selection have been made
since the time of Darwin. This area of study has been called ecological
genetics. It involves the collection of data of various kinds and, in
many cases, the development of special methods for analysing these data.
This book is a summary of methods for data analysis, concentrating on
those that are applicable to animal populations, particularly wild
populations.