A population of strictly monogamous swans consists of 40 males and 10 females. What is the effective population size (Ne)for this population?

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Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The effective population size is the number of individuals in an ideal population that would have the same amount of genetic drift as the actual population. For a strictly monogamous population, the effective population size is equal to the harmonic mean of the number of males and females:Ne = 2 * Nm * Nf / (Nm + Nf)where Nm is the number of males and Nf is the number of females.In this case, Nm = 40 and Nf = 10, so:Ne = 2 * 40 * 10 / (40 + 10) = 32

A Population of Strictly Monogamous Swans Consists of 40 Males