PROBABILISTIC APPROACH TO CALCULATING THE SIZE OF EFFECTIVE POPULATION. l. SELF-FECUNDATION EXCLUDED

Abstract

The concept of eftective population number (Ne) was created in order to analyze any population, independently of its mating structure, in terms of a standard population. The Ne is thus important in various theoretical and applied topics. Whereas the random genetic drift and inbreeding depression are inversely related to Ne, the relationship between Ne and the potential for long-term genetic improvement with moderate selection pressure is direct. However, the derivation of Ne, as originanally described, requires
uncommon statistical tools which make difficult its application. In this study, an easier procedure to determine the Ne, based upon the basic probabilistic principies, is described in detail. The simplicity and potential of this procedure is illustrated by determining the Ne of a monoecious diploid population (N individuals) under random mating with self fertilization excluded. As with the original
procedure, the obtained result was Ne≐N +0.5, which illustrates the efficiency of the proposed procedure.