  In the present article, we investigate the effects of dormancy on an abstract
population genetic level. We first provide a short review of seed bank models
in population genetics, and the role of dormancy for the interplay of
evolutionary forces in general, before we discuss two recent paradigmatic
models, referring to spontaneous resp. simultaneous switching of individuals
between the active and the dormant state. We show that both mechanisms give
rise to non-trivial mathematical objects, namely the (continuous) seed bank
diffusion and the seed bank diffusion with jumps, as well as their dual
processes, the seed bank coalescent and the seed bank coalescent with
simultaneous switching.
