Microsatellite Data Analysis for Population Genetics

Theories and analytical tools of population genetics have been widely applied for addressing various questions in the fields of ecological genetics, conservation biology, and any context where the role of dispersal or gene flow is important. Underlying much of population genetics is the analysis of variation at selectively neutral marker loci, and microsatellites continue to be a popular choice of marker. In recent decades, software programs to estimate population genetics parameters have been developed at an increasing pace as computational science and theoretical knowledge advance. Numerous population genetics software programs are presently available to analyze microsatellite genotype data, but only a handful are commonly employed for calculating parameters such as genetic variation, genetic structure, patterns of spatial and temporal gene flow, population demography, individual population assignment, and genetic relationships within and between populations. In this chapter, we introduce statistical analyses and relevant population genetic software programs that are commonly employed in the field of population genetics and molecular ecology.