sim.gsa.taxa samples trees on n tips (using the GSA approach, see references) from trees with m tips where m>n, given the m-tip trees are simulated under the simple sampling approach (i.e. simulating until first m>>n tips are reached or the tree is extinct).
The TreeSim methods to simulate n-tip trees, sim.bd.taxa and sim.rateshift.taxa, are implemented such that sim.gsa.taxa is not necessary. sim.gsa.taxa is needed for post processing of trees generated NOT in TreeSim: if the aim is to simulate trees with n co-existing tips, then typically simulators stop once the first time n co-existing lineages are reached. However, due to death, we can observe n tips later (e.g. n+1 lineages followed by death leads n lineages). sim.gsa.taxa produces an appropriate set of n-tip trees where the input are m-tip trees with m>>n and the m-tip trees are simulated under these typical simulators.
sim.gsa.taxa works for m-tip trees generated under a model where: (i) the number of tips eventually tends to zero or stays bigger than n and (ii) birth / death rate changes do not depend on the time between the change and the present - e.g. one cannot model a mass extinction event 1 million years BEFORE the present. But one can model a mass extinction event 1 million years AFTER the origin of the tree. The package TreeSimGM uses sim.gsa.taxa to obtain n-tip trees.