The quenched coalescent for structured diploid populations with large migrations and uneven offspring distributions

TL;DR

This paper introduces a new model for diploid population evolution that accounts for large migrations and uneven offspring distributions, showing how gene genealogies converge to a quenched coalescent process under certain conditions.

Contribution

It generalizes existing models by incorporating large migrations and uneven offspring distributions, and establishes convergence to a quenched coalescent process.

Findings

Genealogies converge to a quenched coalescent process under mild conditions.

Classical annealed and new quenched limits differ unless large migrations are absent.

Several examples demonstrate the applicability of the quenched scaling limits.

Abstract

In this work we describe a new model for the evolution of a diploid structured population backwards in time that allows for large migrations and uneven offspring distributions. The model generalizes both the mean-field model of Birkner et al. [\textit{Electron. J. Probab.} 23: 1-44 (2018)] and the haploid structured model of M\"{o}hle [\textit{Theor. Popul. Biol.} 2024 Apr:156:103-116]. We show convergence, with mild conditions on the joint distribution of offspring frequencies and migrations, of gene genealogies conditional on the pedigree to a time-inhomogeneous coalescent process driven by a Poisson point process $\Psi$ that records the timing and scale of large migrations and uneven offspring distributions. This quenched scaling limit demonstrates a significant difference in the predictions of the classical annealed theory of structured coalescent processes. In particular, the annealed and quenched scaling limits coincide if and only if these large migrations and uneven offspring distributions are absent. The proof proceeds by the method of moments and utilizes coupling techniques from the theory of random walks in random environments. Several examples are given and their quenched scaling limits established.