CLOSED POPULATION HONEYBEE BREEDING 3. THE DISTRIBUTION OF SEX ALLELES WITH GYNE SUPERSEDURE
Author(s)
ROBERT E. PAGE, JR, HARRY H. LAIDLAW, JR AND ERIC H. ERICKSON, JR
Abstract
Formulae are derived for determining the effective size of closed (finite) breeding populations (Ne) of honeybees. It is shown that, for a given number of reproductive males and females, Ne is larger if each queen mother is replaced by her own daughter in each generation. Computer simulations show that the number of sex alleles and the proportion of viable brood produced within closed populations remain at an acceptably high level longer with gyne supersedure.
