Variance-effective population number: the effects of sex ratio and density on the mean and variance of offspring numbers in the flour beetle,Tribolium castaneum

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Abstract
SUMMARY: I report the results of an experimental study of the effects of sex ratio and density on the mean and variance in offspring numbers in both sexes of the flour beetle,Tribolium castaneum. The variance-effective number is estimated from the observed variance in offspring numbers using the methods of Crow & Morton (1955).Both the mean and the variance in offspring numbers were found to vary with sex ratio and density; as was found in previous studies (Wade, 1980), males were generally more variable in offspring numbers than females. The ratio of variance to mean progeny numbers in each sex was approximately unity at all sex ratios.
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