Demographic and genetic factors shaping contemporary metapopulation effective size and its empirical estimation in salmonid fish.

ABSTRACT: The preservation of biodiversity requires an understanding of the maintenance of its components, including genetic diversity. Effective population size determines the amount of genetic variance maintained in populations, but its estimation can be complex, especially when populations are interconnected in a metapopulation. Theory predicts that the effective size of a metapopulation (meta-N(e)) can be decreased or increased by population subdivision, but little empirical work has evaluated these predictions. Here, we use neutral genetic markers and simulations to estimate the effective size of a putative metapopulation in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar). For a weakly structured set of rivers, we find that meta-N(e) is similar to the sum of local deme sizes, whereas higher genetic differentiati

SUBMITTER: Palstra FP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3199926 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature