Statistical Measures for Population Genetics

Knowledge of the level of genetic variation within and among populations is important for our understanding of the future direction and rate of evolutionary change. It should be known that, how evolutionary and population genetic processes have genetic and phenotypic differentiation among populations and how genetic diversity and population levels are affected. Statistical methods are developed for answering these important questions in evolutionary biology. In their influential book "Introduction to Population Genetics Theory" Crow and Kimura say that, ¿We will be dealing with population genetics which generally views evolution as changes in the genetic makeup of populations. This is a somewhat reductionist approach: if we could understand the combined action of the forces that change gene frequencies in populations, and then let this run over many generations we might understand long term trends in evolution. Continuing debate: can the processes of microevolution account for the patterns of macroevolution?