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Equation 26 · Part 2 · Evolutionary Biology and Ecology in Practice: An Advanced Technical Guide

subscript

NeN_e
subscript

What this part means

The lower label selects a particular version, component, or indexed member of the quantity. For example, x₀ and xₜ can be values at different positions.

Its job in the formula

A subscript distinguishes a version, component, step, or member of a quantity. It does not automatically mean multiplication.

The passage around this formula

where r^2\hat{r}^2 is the mean squared correlation of allele frequencies across pairs of loci observed in the sample, and S is the sample size, with the 1/S term correcting for the sampling bias that a finite number of genotyped individuals introduces into r^2\hat{r}^2 even when the true population NeN_e is large. The practical consequence practitioners have to internalize: r^2\hat{r}^2 is estimated with noise from a finite sample, and that noise itself creates apparent linkage disequilibrium indistinguishable from drift-generated LD unless it is explicitly subtracted — which is exactly what the 1/S term does, and why the estimator is only trustworthy when the sample size and locus count used to…

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Learn the underlying idea

A subscript is a label attached below a symbol. It often selects a time step, component, category, or member of a sequence.

Open the illustrated subscripts: which member of a family? guide →

Sources cited in the article section

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