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The effect of population size on effective population size: an empirical study in the red flour beetle Tribolium castaneum

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 April 2009

Leslie A. Pray ,
Charles J. Goodnight ,
Lori Stevens ,
James M. Schwartz  and
Guiyun Yan
Leslie A. Pray
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont, USA
Charles J. Goodnight
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont, USA
Lori Stevens
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont, USA
James M. Schwartz
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont, USA
Guiyun Yan
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont, USA
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Despite the increasing number of studies on the magnitude of Ne/N ratios, much remains unknown about the effects of demographic and environmental variables on Ne/N. We determined Ne/N for seven population size treatments, ranging from N = 2 to N = 960, in the red flour beetle Tribolium castaneum. Ne/N decreased with increasing N, as evidenced by a significant negative relationship between log N and Ne/N. Our results are consistent with other published data on the relationship between Ne/N and N. Effective population sizes in large populations may be much smaller than previously recognized. These results have important implications for conservation and evolutionary biology.

Type
Research Article
Information
Genetics Research , Volume 68 , Issue 2 , October 1996 , pp. 151 - 155
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1996

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