MaxTemp: A Method to Maximise Precision of the Temporal Method for Estimating N in Genetic Monitoring Programs.

We introduce a new software program, MaxTemp, that increases precision of the temporal method for estimating effective population size (N) in genetic monitoring programs, which are increasingly used to systematically track changes in global biodiversity. Scientists and managers are typically most interested in N for individual generations, either to match with single-generation estimates of census size (N) or to evaluate consequences of specific management actions or environmental events. Systematically sampling every generation produces a time series of single-generation estimates of temporal F ( , which can then be used to estimate N; however, these estimates have relatively low precision because each reflects just a single episode of genetic drift.

A Five-Year, In Situ Growth Study on Shallow-Water Populations of the Gorgonian Octocoral Calcigorgia spiculifera in the Gulf of Alaska.

Gorgonian octocorals are the most abundant corals in Alaska where they provide important structural habitat for managed species of demersal fish and invertebrates. Fifty-nine gorgonian species have been reported from Alaska waters but little is known about their life history characteristics to help us gauge their ability to recover from seafloor disturbance. Colonies of the holaxonian Calcigorgia spiculifera were tagged beginning in 1999 at three sites in Chatham Strait, Southeast Alaska, using scuba and their growth measured annually for up to 5 years.