Publications by authors named "Mike Bruford"
Article Synopsis
- Good genes theories suggest that polygamy helps remove harmful genetic alleles more effectively due to the alignment of sexual and natural selection, unlike runaway selection theories which predict less efficiency in purifying selection for polygamous species.
- Analysis of data from 150 bird genomes indicates that polygamous birds have significantly fewer harmful genetic variations than monogamous ones, supporting the "good genes" perspective (p = .0005), regardless of population size.
- While polygamy didn't affect overall genetic diversity, there was a marginally significant impact on genetic variation in female polyandrous species (p = .045); additionally, smaller body size and larger geographic ranges correlated with better purifying selection and greater genetic diversity
The decreasing cost and increasing scope and power of emerging genomic technologies are reshaping the field of molecular ecology. However, many modern genomic approaches (e.g.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGenetic erosion is a major threat to biodiversity because it can reduce fitness and ultimately contribute to the extinction of populations. Here, we explore the use of quantitative metrics to detect and monitor genetic erosion. Monitoring systems should not only characterize the mechanisms and drivers of genetic erosion (inbreeding, genetic drift, demographic instability, population fragmentation, introgressive hybridization, selection) but also its consequences (inbreeding and outbreeding depression, emergence of large-effect detrimental alleles, maladaptation and loss of adaptability).
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