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American Zoologist 1983 23(1):111-121; doi:10.1093/icb/23.1.111
© 1983 by The Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology
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Evaluation of Current Population Genetics Theory1

OSCAR KEMPTHORNE
Iowa State University Ames, Iowa 50011

My aim is to give a partial evaluation or critique of the state of population genetics theory. A decent theory must include the following components: the development of concepts of fitness that have demonstrated epistemic correlations, life tables, mating, fecundity, finite (even if large) niche size, and, of course, Mendelism and mutation. It must in the end also include varying environment and competition between species. The extent to which the desiderata are met is discussed. The big lacunae in the whole theory appear to be the inadequate treatment of fitness and the ignoring of niche capacity. Some theorems that are given as fundamental must be questioned and even discarded. Integration of ideas of simple Mendelism, quantitative genetic variation, and ecology is the big task ahead. It is critical that more complete theory be developed.


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