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Estimating the ratio of effective to actual size of an age‐structured population from individual demographic data
Author(s) -
Engen S.,
Lande R.,
Sæther B.E.,
Gienapp P.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
journal of evolutionary biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.289
H-Index - 128
eISSN - 1420-9101
pISSN - 1010-061X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1420-9101.2010.01979.x
Subject(s) - biology , sex ratio , offspring , population , vital rates , population size , reproductive value , effective population size , statistics , demography , population growth , mathematics , genetics , genetic variation , pregnancy , sociology
The effective population size is a central concept for understanding evolutionary processes in a finite population. We employ Fisher's reproductive value to estimate the ratio of effective to actual population size for an age‐structured population with two sexes using random samples of individual vital rates. The population may be subject to environmental stochasticity affecting the vital rates. When the mean sex ratio at birth is known, improved efficiency is obtained by utilizing the records of total number of offspring rather than considering separately female and male offspring. We also show how to incorporate uncertain paternity.