Figure 6.

Phylogeographic inference is most informative when genetic evolution is faster and when the spatial observations are more densely sampled in time than the correlation time of the spatial process. Observed case/inferred ancestor are depicted as solid/open circles; circle size corresponds to the precision of genetic ancestor inference; location is indicated by color; unobserved spatial pathway is indicated by the gray line. (A) Cartoon of a well-resolved situation. The spatial process is densely sampled in time and the genetics provide precise estimation of ancestry. (B) Cartoon of an under-sampled situation. Much of the spatial process is unobserved and genetic distances are long. The genetics provide less precise estimates for ancestry and there is little information to infer spatial history.