INHERITANCE AND NATURAL HISTORY. By R.J. Berry. New Naturalist No. 61.

(1977) 1990 Bloomsbury edn. Pp350. B/w photograph plates and illustrations, maps, bibliography. Pale yellow boards.

This is an excellent introduction to how genetic selection and inheritance work, and how this relates to population biology and the practical aspects of conservation. A great range of species is addressed, from dog whelks to trees, insects to birds, with the facts of well known studies such as the peppered moth and the meadow brown butterfly. Chapters include: The study of differences - genes and not-genes; Pools of genes; Sex and breeding; Natural selection and how it works; Genetical plumbing and architecture; Ecological islands and niches; Genes, survival, and adjustment in an island population of the house mouse; Human influences; Why be variable? An appendix deals with mitosis and meiosis. Although published before the recent enormous advances in this field (or perhaps because of this) this book is still an informative and interesting read.