Can effective population size estimates be used to monitor population trends of woodland bats? A case study of Myotis bechsteinii.

ABSTRACT: Molecular approaches to calculate effective population size estimates (Ne) are increasingly used as an alternative to long-term demographic monitoring of wildlife populations. However, the complex ecology of most long-lived species and the consequent uncertainties in model assumptions means that effective population size estimates are often imprecise. Although methods exist to incorporate age structure into Ne estimations for long-lived species with overlapping generations, they are rarely used owing to the lack of relevant information for most wild populations. Here, we performed a case study on an elusive woodland bat, Myotis bechsteinii, to compare the use of the parentage assignment Ne estimator (EPA) with the more commonly used linkage disequilibrium (LD) Ne estimator in detect

SUBMITTER: Wright PGR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7920762 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature