This visually appealing book recounts the history of molecular ecology and evolution as seen through the personal lens of one of its most prolific practitioners, who has studied a panorama of creatures ranging from corals, sponges, and other invertebrates to a wide variety of vertebrate animals including numerous birds, mammals, herps, and fishes. The sketches are of two types: evocative drawings of the animals themselves, and more than 230 written abstracts summarizing the author’s eclectic research on ecological-genetic topics spanning the microevolutionary to macroevolutionary. With the abstracts arranged by organismal group and placed in chronological order, the chapters in this book lead readers on a fascinating historical journey into the realm of molecular genetics as applied across the past four decades to intriguing questions in ecology, evolution, animal behavior, and natural history.

• Encapsulates salient genetic findings on a diverse array of creatures in nature
• Recounts the history of technological and conceptual developments in ecological genetics
• Includes approximately 80 beautiful line drawings of the animals themselves
• Provides context by preceding each abstract with an anecdote or historical backdrop
• Concludes each abstract with an addendum that further contextualizes the research findings
• Written by a world-leading authority in molecular ecology and evolution

• Front Cover 2
• Sketches of Nature 5
• Copyright Page 6
• Contents 7
• Preface 9
• Introduction 11
• 1 Collecting the Animals 15
• 2 Sunfishes (Centrarchidae) 19
  • Introduction 19
    • Biochemical genetics of sunfish I. Geographic variation and subspecific intergradation in the bluegill, Lepomis macrochirus 19
      • Avise, J.C. and M.H. Smith. 1974. Biochemical genetics of sunfish I. Geographic variation and subspecific intergradation in... 19
        • Anecdote or Backdrop 19
        • Addendum 20
        • Abstract 20