Population structure

摘要: Population structure is an important guideline to understanding the evolution of cave-dwelling animals, because it represents the outcome of their history and adaptation as well as the groundwork for speciation in the cave environment. However, despite its potential value, population structure is still a poorly studied feature of cave life. Population structure can be viewed from two different perspectives. Ecologists usually view the composition of a population according to age and sex of individuals, and population geneticists keep in mind the organization of genetic variation within and between populations, with special emphasis on their spatial arrangement. In this article we address the latter aspect.