Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

Advertisement

Heredity
  • View all journals
  • Search
  • Log in
  • Content Explore content
  • About the journal
  • Publish with us
  • Sign up for alerts
  • RSS feed
  1. nature
  2. heredity
  3. original article
  4. article
A bias in estimation of viabilities from competition experiments
Download PDF
Download PDF
  • Original Article
  • Published: 01 April 1982

A bias in estimation of viabilities from competition experiments

  • D Anxolabehere1 na1,
  • J M Goux1 &
  • G Periquet1 na1 

Heredity volume 48, pages 271–282 (1982)Cite this article

  • 481 Accesses

  • 17 Citations

  • Metrics details

Summary

Some current estimators of the relative viabilities of genotypes used in competition experiments, are shown to be biased, the bias being a function of the sample size and the gene frequency. From their use, an erroneous conclusion of a frequency-dependent phenomenon can be drawn. Almost unbiased estimators are advocated. The calculation of the exact distribution of these estimators for each experimental situation is the only correct way to test the significance of an observed value.

Similar content being viewed by others

Bayesian estimation of gene constraint from an evolutionary model with gene features

Article 08 July 2024

Opportunities and challenges for the use of common controls in sequencing studies

Article 17 May 2022

Behavioural genetics methods

Article 09 February 2023

Article PDF

References

  • Anxolabehere, D. 1971. Sélection larvaire et fréquence génique chez Drosophila melanogaster. Heredity, 26, 9–18.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Anxolabehere, D. 1976. Heterosis overdominance and frequency-dependent selection in Drosophila melanogaster at the sepia locus. Evolution, 30, 523–534.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Birley, A J, and Beardmore, J A. 1977. Genetical composition, temperature, density and selection in an enzyme polymorphism. Heredity, 39, 133–144.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bundgaard, J, and Christiansen, F B. 1972. Dynamics of polymorphisms: I. Selection components in an experimental population of Drosophila melanogaster. Genetics, 71, 439–460.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Goux, J M, and Anxolabehere, D. 1980. The measurement of sexual isolation and selection: a critique. Heredity, 45, 255–262.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haldane, J B S. 1956. The estimation of viabilities. J Genet, 54, 294–296.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, C. 1976. Introduction to Natural Selection. University Park Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kojima, K I, and Huang, S L. 1972. Effects of population density on the frequency-dependent selection in the Esterase-6 locus of Drosophila melanogaster. Evolution, 26, 313–321.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kojima, K I, and Tobari, Y N. 1969. Selective models associated with karyotypes in Drosophila ananassae. II. Heterosis and frequency-dependent selection. Genetics, 63, 639–651.

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Manly, B F J. 1972. Estimating selective values from field data. Biometrics, 28, 1115–1125.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morgan, Ph. 1976. Frequency-dependent selection at two enzyme loci in Drosophila melanogaster. Nature, 263, 765–766.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Polivanov, S. 1964. Selection in experimental populations of Drosophila melanogaster with different genetic backgrounds. Genetics, 50, 81–100.

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Snyder, T P, and Ayala, F. 1979. Frequency-dependent selection at the PGM-1 locus of Drosophila pseudoobscura. Genetics, 92, 995–1003.

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Spiess, E B. 1958. Chromosomal adaptive polymorphism in Drosophila persimilis. II. Effect of population cage conditions on the life cycle components. Evolution, 12, 234–245.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Spiess, E B. 1979. Genes in Populations. John Wiley and Sons.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yarbrough, K, and Kojima, K I. 1967. The mode of selection at the Esterase-6 locus in cage populations of Drosophila melanogaster. Genetics, 57, 677–686.

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Author notes
  1. D Anxolabehere and G Periquet: Equipe de recherche associée au C.N.R.S. No. 406: “Etude des mécanismes responsables du maintien du polymorphism”.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire de Génétique des Populations, Université Paris VII, 2 place Jussieu, Paris, 75005, France

    D Anxolabehere, J M Goux & G Periquet

Authors
  1. D Anxolabehere
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  2. J M Goux
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  3. G Periquet
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Anxolabehere, D., Goux, J. & Periquet, G. A bias in estimation of viabilities from competition experiments. Heredity 48, 271–282 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1038/hdy.1982.32

Download citation

  • Received: 12 July 1981

  • Issue date: 01 April 1982

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/hdy.1982.32

Share this article

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

This article is cited by

  • Multilocus heterozygosity at protein loci and fitness in the European oyster, Ostrea edulis L.

    • G Alvarez
    • C Zapata
    • A Guerra

    Heredity (1989)

  • Sexual selection on chromosomal polymorphism in Drosophila subobscura

    • Mauro Santos
    • Rosa Tarrío
    • Gonzalo Alvarez

    Heredity (1986)

  • The maintenance of the lethal gene curly in experimental populations of Drosophila melanogaster

    • Claudine Petit
    • Danielle Nouaud

    Heredity (1984)

  • On the estimation of viabilities in competition experiments

    • J Connolly
    • C Gliddon

    Heredity (1984)

  • Selection at sex-linked loci. I. A method of estimating total fitnesses

    • Gonzalo Alvarez
    • Mauro Santos
    • Carlos Zapata

    Heredity (1983)

Download PDF

Advertisement

Explore content

  • Research articles
  • Reviews & Analysis
  • News & Comment
  • Podcasts
  • Current issue
  • Collections
  • Follow us on Twitter
  • Sign up for alerts
  • RSS feed

About the journal

  • Journal Information
  • Open access publishing
  • About the Editors
  • Contact
  • About the Partner
  • For Advertisers
  • Subscribe

Publish with us

  • For Authors & Referees
  • Language editing services
  • Open access funding
  • Submit manuscript

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

  • Explore articles by subject
  • Find a job
  • Guide to authors
  • Editorial policies

Heredity (Heredity)

ISSN 1365-2540 (online)

ISSN 0018-067X (print)

nature.com sitemap

About Nature Portfolio

  • About us
  • Press releases
  • Press office
  • Contact us

Discover content

  • Journals A-Z
  • Articles by subject
  • protocols.io
  • Nature Index

Publishing policies

  • Nature portfolio policies
  • Open access

Author & Researcher services

  • Reprints & permissions
  • Research data
  • Language editing
  • Scientific editing
  • Nature Masterclasses
  • Research Solutions

Libraries & institutions

  • Librarian service & tools
  • Librarian portal
  • Open research
  • Recommend to library

Advertising & partnerships

  • Advertising
  • Partnerships & Services
  • Media kits
  • Branded content

Professional development

  • Nature Awards
  • Nature Careers
  • Nature Conferences

Regional websites

  • Nature Africa
  • Nature China
  • Nature India
  • Nature Japan
  • Nature Middle East
  • Privacy Policy
  • Use of cookies
  • Legal notice
  • Accessibility statement
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Your US state privacy rights
Springer Nature

© 2025 Springer Nature Limited