Quantitative genetics: Introduction
We'll finish up our discussion of phylogeography and molecular evolution on Tuesday. Today we'll begin the last block of material in the course - quantitative genetics. As you're probably figuring out by now, it would be easy to teach entire graduate-level courses on each of the major topics we've covered in this course - traditional single-locus population genetics, molecular evolution, phylogeography. The same is true of quantitative genetics. You'll also find that this topic has substantially more math than anything we've done before. It's not hard, but the topic is pretty abstract. We're doing something that you should be used to by now. We will be studying how complicated phenotypes influenced by many loci are inherited and how they evolve, and we'll be doing so by starting with the assumption that these complicated phenotypes are influenced only by genetic variation at a single locus with two alleles. I'll do my best to keep returning to the biology that we're interested in, but I know that I can count on you to interrupt me any time I get too far into the weeds. Don't hesitate to stop me and shout "Who gives a damn?" whenever you don't see the point of what I'm saying. I guarantee (a) you won't be alone and (b) it will happen more than once.