The effect on genetic sampling distributions of correlations in reproduction (Q1113837)

We adapt the Moran model for neutral reproduction to allow for correlations in offspring numbers between successive generations. Such correlations (perhaps caused by linkage disequilibrium with a non-neutral locus, or a varying environment) rather than the action of natural selection might account for departures from the neutral-theory distribution of allele frequencies in a sample. The conclusion, however, is that while the number of alleles present will tend to be smaller, the conditional distribution of allele frequencies, remains unchanged. There is some evidence that this conclusion might remain valid for more general models.