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How large must populations be to retain evolutionary potential?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 1998

I. R. Franklin
Affiliation:
CSIRO Division of Animal Production, Locked Bag 1, Blacktown, NSW 2148, Australia
R. Frankham
Affiliation:
Key Centre for Biodiversity and Bioresources, School of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, NSW 2109, Australia
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Abstract

Maintaining genetic variation for future evolutionary change is an important issue for conservation biology. However, there is controversy over the effective population size (Ne) required for endangered species to retain their evolutionary potential, with proposed sizes ranging from 500 to 5000. The highest estimate is based on the assumption that 90% of mutations are deleterious. We review the arguments for an effective size of 5000 and conclude that it assumes effective mutation rates that are too low, and heritabilities that are, in general, very high. We conclude that an Ne of 500–1000 is appropriate at this time.

Type
Brief Report
Copyright
© 1998 The Zoological Society of London

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