Do polymorphic loci require large sample sizes to estimate genetic distances?

The coefficient of variation of estimates of three genetic distances (standard genetic distance of Nei, chord distance, F-ST) was examined with computer simulation to determine if large samples (per population) are necessary to precisely estimate genetic distances at loci with high levels of polymorphism. These simulations showed that loci with high mutation rates produce estimates of genetic distance with lower coefficients of variation than loci with lower mutation rates - without requiring larger sample sizes from each population. In addition, the rate at which increasing sample sizes decreases the coefficient of variation of estimates of genetic distances was shown to be approximately determined by the value of F-ST between the populations being sampled. When F-ST was greater than 0.05, sampling fewer than 20 individuals (per population) should be sufficient. When F-ST was less than 0.01, sampling 100 individuals (per population) or more will be useful.