/sci/ - Science & Math

>>15541489
PCAs use percentage of variation. So basically if you restrict to looking at population wide differences, the PCA is saying that X% of the genetic differences between two populations can be explained by the component along one axis. So for OP's graph PC2 tells us that that as you move from top to bottom, so from Coyotes to Italian wolves, about 1.7% of base pairs will change. Then when you move from dogs to wolves about 10% of base pairs will change.

Scientists usually graph the components which explain the greatest amount of variation, but you can also find smaller components which tell you more advanced relationships between populations, though these explain a smaller amount of variation.