UglyTrees: A browser-based multispecies coalescent tree visualizer

Abstract

Summary: Visualization is a vital task in phylogenetics and yet there is a deficit in programs which visualize the multispecies coalescent (MSC) model. UglyTrees (UT) is an easy-to-use program for visualizing multiple gene trees embedded within a single species trees. The mapping between gene and species nodes is automatically detected allowing for ready access to the program. UT can scrape the contents of a website for MSC analyses, enabling the sharing of interactive MSC figures through optional parameters in the URL. If a posterior distribution is uploaded, the transitions between MSC states are animated allowing the visual tracking of trees throughout the sequence.