Estimation of contemporary effect population size in an island population of the collared flycatcher (Ficedula albicollis) using large-scale genome data

• Due to its central importance to many aspects of evolutionary biology and population genetics, the long-term effective population size (Ne) has been estimated for numerous species and populations. However, estimating contemporary Ne is difficult and in practice this parameter is often not known. In principle, contemporary Ne can be estimated using either analyses of temporal changes in allele frequencies or the extent of linkage disequilibrium (LD) between unlinked markers. We applied these approaches for contemporary Ne estimation of a relatively recently founded island population of collared flycatchers (Ficedula albicollis). We sequenced the genomes of 85 birds sampled in 1993 and 2015, and used a method of Jorde & Ryman (2007) to estimate Ne to ≈5,000 based on the amount of genetic drift observed between the two cohorts. This corresponds to an effective size/census size (Ne/Nc) ratio of ≈0.5. An approach based on LD applied to each cohort could not separate from Ne infinity. When individuals from the two cohorts were pooled, Ne was estimated to 10,000-25,000, but these estimates may be sensitive to biases. We conclude that whole-genome sequence data offer new possibilities for estimation of contemporary Ne, but also note that such estimation remains difficult. 

Ämnesord

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Biologi -- Evolutionsbiologi (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Biological Sciences -- Evolutionary Biology (hsv//eng)

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