Genealogies and inference for populations with highly skewed offspring distributions

TL;DR

This paper reviews recent advances in understanding genealogies of populations with highly skewed offspring distributions, focusing on multiple merger coalescents and inference methods for such models.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of models with skewed offspring distributions and discusses inference techniques for parameter estimation and model selection.

Findings

Multiple merger coalescents model populations with skewed reproductive success.

Inference methods enable parameter estimation and model selection under these coalescent models.

The review connects theoretical models with practical inference approaches.

Abstract

We review recent progress in the understanding of the role of multiple- and simultaneous multiple merger coalescents as models for the genealogy in idealised and real populations with exceptional reproductive behaviour. In particular, we discuss models with `skewed offspring distribution' (or under other non-classical evolutionary forces) which lead in the single locus haploid case to multiple merger coalescents, and in the multi-locus diploid case to simultaneous multiple merger coalescents. Further, we discuss inference methods under the infinitely-many sites model which allow both model selection and estimation of model parameters under these coalescents.