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Measuring reproductive success in insects

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Molecular Ecology and Evolution: Approaches and Applications

Part of the book series: Experientia Supplementum ((EXS,volume 69))

Summary

Many questions concerning social behavior and reproductive ecology require an accurate measure of direct and/or indirect fitness. Recently developed molecular techniques that measure parentage and relatedness have made these basic questions more tractable. In this chapter, we provide a summary of the methods and analyses of the most commonly used techniques for measuring reproductive success which have been applied to insect systems. We focus particularly on the strengths and weaknesses of randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis because we believe that it is an excellent option for behavioral ecologists who wish to determine parentage.

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Author notes

  1. S. M. Williams

    Present address: Division of Biomedical Sciences, Meharry Medical College, Nashville, TN, 37208, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Zoology, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, 03824, USA

    M. P. Scott

  2. Department of Biology, Boston University, Boston, MA, 02215, USA

    S. M. Williams

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  1. M. P. Scott
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  2. S. M. Williams
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Zoologisches Institut, Universität Frankfurt, Siesmayerstr. 70, D-60054, Frankfurt, Germany

    B. Schierwater  & B. Streit  & 

  2. Department of Biology, Yale University, 165 Prospect St., New Haven, CT, 06511, USA

    G. P. Wagner

  3. Department of Entomology, American Museum of Natural History, 79th Street at Central Park West, New York, NY, 10024, USA

    R. DeSalle

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© 1994 Springer Basel AG

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Scott, M.P., Williams, S.M. (1994). Measuring reproductive success in insects. In: Schierwater, B., Streit, B., Wagner, G.P., DeSalle, R. (eds) Molecular Ecology and Evolution: Approaches and Applications. Experientia Supplementum, vol 69. Birkhäuser, Basel. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-0348-7527-1_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-0348-7527-1_5

  • Publisher Name: Birkhäuser, Basel

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-0348-7529-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-0348-7527-1

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