Estimation of genetically effective breeding numbers using a rejection algorithm approach
Authored by U Ramakrishnan, JF Storz, BL Taylor, R Lande
Date Published: 2004
DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-294x.2004.02326.x
Sponsors:
United States National Science Foundation (NSF)
Platforms:
No platforms listed
Model Documentation:
Other Narrative
Mathematical description
Model Code URLs:
Model code not found
Abstract
Polygynous mating results in nonrandom sampling of the adult male gamete
pool in each generation, thereby increasing the rate of genetic drift.
In principle, genetic paternity analysis can be used to infer the
effective number of breeding males (N-ebm). However, this requires
genetic data from an exhaustive sample of candidate males. Here we
describe a new approach to estimate N-ebm using a rejection algorithm in
association with three statistics: Euclidean distance between the
frequency distributions of maternally and paternally inherited alleles, average number of paternally inherited alleles and average gene
diversity of paternally inherited alleles. We quantify the relationship
between these statistics and N-ebm using an individual-based simulation
model in which the male mating system varied continuously between random
mating and extreme polygyny. We evaluate this method using genetic data
from a natural population of highly polygynous fruit bats (Cynopterous
sphinx). Using data in the form of mother-offspring genotypes, we
demonstrate that estimates of N-ebm are very similar to independent
estimates based on a direct paternity analysis that included data on
candidate males. Our method also permits an evaluation of uncertainty in
estimates of N-ebm and thus facilitates inferences about the mating
system from genetic data. Finally, we investigate the sensitivity of our
method to sample size, model assumptions, adult population size and the
mating system. These analyses demonstrate that the rejection algorithm
provides accurate estimates of N-ebm across a broad range of demographic
scenarios, except when the true N-ebm is high.
Tags
Social-structure
Effective population-size
Temporally spaced samples
Male mating
success
Sib progeny array
Indian fruit bat
Cynopterus-sphinx
Heterozygote-excess
Allele frequencies
Likelihood