Abstract
The seminal Neo-Darwinian view of the 1930’s (Fisher, Haldane and Wright) prevails today as the main guide for causal-analytical research in evolutionary genetics. Important newer theories of character evolution and quantitative inheritance (e.g., Mather and Lande) are being integrated into earlier Neo-Darwinian theory. Permanent change occurs through natural and sexual selection operating continually on gene mutations and recombinations generated in local populations. Darwinian fitness remains as the universal target of natural and sexual selection, during which individual organisms interact in a rigorous natural reproductive competition that isolates and then leaves behind any gene or combination that is less fit Although robust, the theory needs theoretical and empirical refinement.
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Carson, H.L. (1999). Selection, Darwinian Fitness and Evolution in Local Populations. In: Wasser, S.P. (eds) Evolutionary Theory and Processes: Modern Perspectives. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-4830-6_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-4830-6_2
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