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Question about extremely high Z-scores (Z = 100) in qpDstat results #122

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@aaannaw

Dear Author,

I am currently using qpDstat from the Admixtools package to calculate D-statistics among several rodent species. However, I have noticed that many of my results show Z-scores = 100, and most tests have |Z| > 3. I would like to ask whether this pattern is expected or indicates a problem in my setup.

Image

Here are some details about my data and parameters:

Reference genome size: ~2.3 Gb

Number of SNPs used: 278518514,quite large

Parameter file: blgsize: 0.01

Outgroup: a relatively distant species

Many tests were run for all possible quartets (W, X, Y, Z), not only for topologies consistent with the species tree.

My questions are:

Is it normal to get Z = 100 for many tests, or does this indicate numerical saturation (e.g., SE(D) too small)?

Should I increase the block size (e.g., blgsize: 0.05 or larger) to avoid unrealistically small SE values?

Would it be more appropriate to limit the tests to quartets consistent with the species tree, instead of testing all possible combinations?

Could the high Z-scores result from using too distant an outgroup or from excessive divergence among species? In that case, would you recommend restricting the D-statistic tests within clades and choosing the nearest outgroup for each trio?

Any guidance on how to interpret these large Z-scores and how to adjust parameters or filtering strategies would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you very much for your time and for maintaining this excellent tool.

Best regards,
Na Wan

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