There has been an explosion of activity in the application of molecular biological techniques to evolutionary and ecological studies. This volume attempts to summarize advances in the field and place into context the variety of methods available to ecologists and evolutionary biologists using molecular techniques.

In the last 25 years, we have witnessed a revolution in the way that ecologists and evolutionary biologists approach their disciplines. This revolution has been fueled by the ability to dissect the genetic and molecular basis of variation that is partly the currency of these disci- plines. Using modern molecular techniques, we have begun to restruc- ture the spectrum of questions that can be addressed in studying the mechanisms and consequences of the ecology and evolution of living organisms. The molecular revolution has co me in waves, so to speak, with three particularly important...