Early detection of population declines: high power of genetic monitoring using effective population size estimators.

ABSTRACT: Early detection of population declines is essential to prevent extinctions and to ensure sustainable harvest. We evaluated the performance of two N e estimators to detect population declines: the two-sample temporal method and a one-sample method based on linkage disequilibrium (LD). We used simulated data representing a wide range of population sizes, sample sizes and number of loci. Both methods usually detect a population decline only one generation after it occurs if N e drops to less than approximately 100, and 40 microsatellite loci and 50 individuals are sampled. However, the LD method often out performed the temporal method by allowing earlier detection of less severe population declines (N e approximately 200). Power for early detection increased more rapidly with the number of in

SUBMITTER: Antao T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3352520 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature