Second order limit theorems for the Markov branching process in random environments

In a Markov branching process with random environments, limiting fluctuations of the population size arise from the changing environment, which causes random variation of the ‘deterministic’ population prediction, and from the stochastic wobble around this ‘deterministic’ mean, which is apparent in the ordinary Markov branching process. If the random environment is generated by a suitable stationary process, the first variation typically swamps the second kind. In this paper, environmental processes are considered which, in contrast, lead to sampling and environmental fluctuation of comparable magnitude. The method makes little use either of stationarity or of the branching property, and is amenable to some generalization away from the Markov branching process.