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Estimating allelic richness: Effects of sample size and bottlenecks
Author(s) -
Leberg P. L.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
molecular ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.619
H-Index - 225
eISSN - 1365-294X
pISSN - 0962-1083
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-294x.2002.01612.x
Subject(s) - sample size determination , statistics , covariate , biology , rarefaction (ecology) , species richness , sampling (signal processing) , statistical power , sampling bias , sample (material) , mathematics , computer science , ecology , chemistry , filter (signal processing) , chromatography , computer vision
Abstract Although differences in sampling intensity can bias comparisons of allelic richness ( A ) among populations, investigators often fail to correct estimates of A for differences in sample size. Methods that standardize A on the basis of the size of the smallest number of samples in a comparison are preferable to other approaches. Rarefaction and repeated random subsampling provide unbiased estimates of A with the greatest precision and thus provide greatest statistical power to detect differences in variation. Less promising approaches, in terms of bias or precision, include single random subsampling, eliminating very small samples, using sample size as a covariate or extrapolating estimates obtained from small samples to a larger number of individuals.