Journal de phylogénétique et de biologie évolutive

Structure of Natural Populations of Animals and Plants Focus on Understanding Patterns of Dispersal

Abstract

Othman Salim Hussein Alfleesy

Organismal biology, the study of structure, function, ecology and evolution at the level of the organism, provides a rich arena for investigation on its own, but also plays a central role in answering conceptual questions about both ecology and evolution. Organisms connect ecology, physiology, and behavior to the fields of comparative genomics, evolutionary development, and phylogenetics. Organismal-level study is crucial throughout comparative biology, which becomes increasingly potent as the genomes of more and more organisms are sequenced and annotated. Faculty in EEB share a conviction that studies of ecological and evolutionary processes are more efficient, and their results more reliable, when they are solidly grounded in a naturalist's detailed familiarity with the organisms being studied.