SimBit: A high performance, flexible and easy-to-use population genetic
simulator
Abstract
SimBit is a general purpose and high performance forward-in-time
population genetics simulator. SimBit has been designed to be able to
model a wide diversity of complex scenarios from a simple set of
commands that are very flexible. SimBit also comes with a R wrapper that
simplifies the management of an entire research project from the
creation of a grid of parameters and corresponding inputs, running
simulations and gathering outputs for analysis. Implementing various
representations of the individual’s genotype allows SimBit to sustain a
high performance in a wide diversity of simulation scenarios. SimBit’s
performance was extensively benchmarked in comparison to SLiM, Nemo and
SFS_CODE. No single program systematically outperforms the others but
SimBit is most often the highest performing program and maintains high
performance in all scenarios considered.