This volume presents a review of metapopulation biology. It describes key theories of study and applies the best field studies to the conservation of species in fragmented landscapes. The work explains and critically assess the value of the metapopulation concept for field studies and conservation.

Ecology, Genetics and Evolution of Metapopulations is acollection of specially commissioned articles that looks at fragmented habitats, bringing together recent theoretical advances and empirical studies applying the metapopulation approach. Several chapters closely integrate ecology with genetics and evolutionary biology, and others illustrate how metapopulation concepts and models can be applied to answer questions about conservation, epidemiology, and speciation. The extensive coverage of theory from highly regarded scientists and the many substantive applications in this one-of-a-kind work make it invaluable to graduate students and researchers in a wide range of disciplines. Provides a comprehensive and authoritative account of all aspects of metapopulation biology, integrating ecology, genetics, and evolution Developed by recognized experts, including Hanski who won the Balzan Prize for Ecological Sciences Covers novel applications of the metapopulation approach to conservation

Written by a world renowned biologist, this volume offers a comprehensive synthesis of current research in this rapidly expanding area of population biology. It covers both the essential theory and a wide range of empirical studies, including the author's groundbreaking work on the Glanville fritillary butterfly. It also includes practical applications to conservation biology. The book describes theoretical models for metapopulation dynamics in highly fragmented landscapes and emphasizes spatially realistic models. It presents the incidence function model and includes several detailed examples of its application. Accessible to advanced undergraduate and graduate students, Metapopulation Ecology will be a valuable resource for researchers in population biology, conservation biology, and landscape ecology.

Spatial dynamics, landscape, population.

Across the globe, populations of plants and animals live in clusters, but maintain a connectivity a population of populations. There are naturally occurring metapopulations, such as clusters of groupers spread across coral reefs, and there are metapopulations humans have helped create by fragmenting landscapes: stands of trees separated by roads, prairies separated by agricultural farms. As the dynamics of landscape change have accelerated, and understanding of how metapopulations functions has played a critical role in ecology and evolutionary biology. Adaptation in Metapopulations synthesizes the role of genetic interactions in adaptive evolution and their influence on the effectiveness of different types of selection. Drawing on extensive field work and lab experiments, cohered with a strong conceptual arc, the work also integrates molecular and organismal biology, as Wade explores adaptation at multiple scales, and shows how evolutionary dynamics scale from the gene to the metapopulation. "

As anthropogenic environmental changes spread and intensify across the planet, conservation biologists have to analyze dynamics at large spatial and temporal scales. Ecological and evolutionary processes are then closely intertwined. In particular, evolutionary responses to anthropogenic environmental change can be so fast and pronounced that conservation biology can no longer afford to ignore them. To tackle this challenge, areas of conservation biology that are disparate ought to be integrated into a unified framework. Bringing together conservation genetics, demography, and ecology, this book introduces evolutionary conservation biology as an integrative approach to managing species in conjunction with ecological interactions and evolutionary processes. Which characteristics of species and which features of environmental change foster or hinder evolutionary responses in ecological systems? How do such responses affect population viability, community dynamics, and ecosystem functioning? Under which conditions will evolutionary responses ameliorate, rather than worsen, the impact of environmental change?