IdentityByDescentDispersal.jl: Inferring dispersal rates with identity-by-descent blocks

TL;DR

This paper introduces a Julia software package that estimates population dispersal rates and densities from spatial patterns of identity-by-descent blocks, facilitating broader use in evolutionary and ecological studies.

Contribution

The paper presents a new Julia package implementing an existing inference scheme for estimating dispersal and population density from IBD data, with flexible modeling capabilities.

Findings

Supports efficient gradient-based optimization

Accommodates arbitrary demographic models

Encourages wider application of spatial genetic analysis

Abstract

The population density and per-generation dispersal rate of a population are central parameters in the study of evolution and ecology. The distribution of recent coalescent events between individuals in space can be used to estimate such quantities through the distribution of identity-by-descent (IBD) blocks. An IBD block is defined as a segment of DNA that has been inherited by a pair of individuals from a common ancestor without being broken by recombination. We introduce a Julia package for estimating effective population densities and dispersal rates from observed spatial patterns of IBD shared blocks. It implements the inference scheme proposed by Ringbauer, Coop, and Barton (2017). The package provides a user-friendly interface, supports efficient gradient-based optimization and accommodates arbitrary user-defined demographic models through numerical integration. This software aims to encourage a wider audience to utilize spatial genetic data for estimating dispersal rates, thereby motivating further research and expanding its applications.