Table 2. Bias and precision for estimates of effective population size (N_e) at all time periods using simulated populations of constant size.

True Ne	Time	Percent bias	CV
100	14.377	2.290	0.053
100	6.650	−2.425	0.055
100	3.994	−6.094	0.074
100	1.009	3.540	0.017
250	14.339	−0.350	0.069
250	6.649	−7.344	0.084
250	3.997	−8.002	0.130
250	1.009	3.151	0.039
500	14.340	−4.850	0.096
500	6.647	−3.509	0.140
500	3.993	−8.780	0.231
500	1.009	7.509	0.081
1000	14.342	−4.990	0.154
1000	6.648	−8.142	0.248
1000	3.994	−9.261	0.620
1000	1.009	6.961	0.175

‘True N_e' is the true N_e of the simulated population; ‘Time' is the time period (generations in the past) to which the estimate refers; ‘Percent Bias' is the difference between the estimated and true N_e, as a percentage of the true N_e; ‘CV' is the coefficient of variation of the estimate, calculated following Hill (1981).