Robustness of Hill's overlapping-generation method for calculating N_e to extreme patterns of reproductive success.

ABSTRACT: For species with overlapping generations, the most widely used method to calculate effective population size (N_e) is Hill's, the key parameter for which is lifetime variance in offspring number ([Formula: see text]). Hill's model assumes a stable age structure and constant abundance, and sensitivity to those assumptions has been evaluated previously. Here I evaluate the robustness of Hill's model to extreme patterns of reproductive success, whose effects have not been previously examined: (1) very strong reproductive skew; (2) strong temporal autocorrelations in individual reproductive success; and (3) strong covariance of individual reproduction and survival. Genetic drift (loss of heterozygosity and increase in allele frequency variance) was simulated in age-structured populat

SUBMITTER: Waples RS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10382553 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature