Correlation of gene frequencies between neutral linked genes in finite populations

The mean squared correlation (r²) of gene frequencies between two selectively neutral loci in segregating populations is obtained using an approximation based on expanding the formula for r² in terms up to eighth moments. The moments are evaluated for all populations, whether segregating or not, but when combined with the probability of segregation, quite accurate results are obtained. Formulae for the moments and an approximation for the probability of segregation are given for populations of large size (N) and small recombination fraction (c). The method is extended to evaluate the variance of r². The coefficient of variation of r² exceeds unity for a wide range of Nc values.