Glossary

Admixture: a composite gene pool in which at least some individuals (F1, F2,. Fx and/or backcross) can trace ancestry to more than one population. Assignment index: the expected frequency of the multilocus genotype of an individual in the population from which it was sampled. Individuals with a relatively low assignment index have genotypes that are unlikely for that population and, thus, are potential immigrants. Assignment method (AM): any of several related statistical methods that use genetic information to ascertain population membership of individuals or groups of individuals (Table 1). Assignment test (AT): a statistical test of the hypothesis that the multilocus genotype of an individual in question arose from a particular population (Box 1). Bayesian analysis: a method of statistical analysis that begins with prior distributions for the model parameters and updates these based on observed data to arrive at a posterior probability distribution. Classification: a method for assigning individuals to predefined categories