Estimation of the Number of Different Classes in a Population

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Abstract
A new method of estimation is proposed for the number of different classes in a population under the assumption that the classes are equally frequent. This estimate n is found by solution of the equation [image] where N is the sample size and k is the number of different classes in the sample. The estimate is sufficient and efficient when compared with the frequency of allelism estimate currently used. Two experimental designs are suggested for the application of these estimates to estimation of the number of loci on a chromosome. The complete cross design using the new estimate is considerably more efficient in terms of information per unit effort than a random cross scheme using the frequency of allelism estimate. The problem of obtaining confidence intervals for these procedures is discussed with the conclusion that only the random cross design is practical if exact confidence intervals in small samples are desired. The estimates are applied to two sets of data from Drosophila.