Origins and genetic legacies of the Caribbean Taino

The Caribbean was one of the last parts of the Americas to be settled by humans, but how and when the islands were first occupied remains a matter of debate. Ancient DNA can help answering these questions, but the work has been hampered by poor DNA preservation. We report the genome sequence of a 1,000-year-old Lucayan Taino individual recovered from the site of Preacher’s Cave in the Bahamas. We sequenced her genome to 12.4-fold coverage and show that she is genetically most closely related to present-day Arawakan speakers from northern South America, suggesting that the ancestors of the Lucayans originated there. Further, we find no evidence for recent inbreeding or isolation in the ancient genome, suggesting that the Lucayans had a relatively large effective population size. Finally, we show that the native American components in some present-day Caribbean genomes are closely related to the ancient Taino, demonstrating an element of continuity between precontact populations and present-day Latino populations in the Caribbean.

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A genetic history of the pre-contact Caribbean

10.1101/2020.06.01.126730 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Daniel M. Fernandes ◽

Kendra A. Sirak ◽

Harald Ringbauer ◽

Jakob Sedig ◽

Nadin Rohland ◽

...

Keyword(s):

South America ◽

High Mobility ◽

Effective Population ◽

The Bahamas ◽

Caribbean Islands ◽

Population Size Estimates ◽

Ceramic Age ◽

Population Sizes ◽

History Of ◽

The Caribbean

Humans settled the Caribbean ~6,000 years ago, with intensified agriculture and ceramic use marking a shift from the Archaic Age to the Ceramic Age ~2,500 years ago. To shed new light on the history of Caribbean people, we report genome-wide data from 184 individuals predating European contact from The Bahamas, Cuba, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, Curaçao, and northwestern Venezuela. A largely homogeneous ceramic-using population most likely originating in northeastern South America and related to present-day Arawak-speaking groups moved throughout the Caribbean at least 1,800 years ago, spreading ancestry that is still detected in parts of the region today. These people eventually almost entirely replaced Archaic-related lineages in Hispaniola but not in northwestern Cuba, where unadmixed Archaic-related ancestry persisted into the last millennium. We document high mobility and inter-island connectivity throughout the Ceramic Age as reflected in relatives buried ~75 kilometers apart in Hispaniola and low genetic differentiation across many Caribbean islands, albeit with subtle population structure distinguishing the Bahamian islands we studied from the rest of the Caribbean and from each other, and long-term population continuity in southeastern coastal Hispaniola differentiating this region from the rest of the island. Ceramic-associated people avoided close kin unions despite limited mate pools reflecting low effective population sizes (2Ne=1000-2000) even at sites on the large Caribbean islands. While census population sizes can be an order of magnitude larger than effective population sizes, pan-Caribbean population size estimates of hundreds of thousands are likely too large. Transitions in pottery styles show no evidence of being driven by waves of migration of new people from mainland South America; instead, they more likely reflect the spread of ideas and people within an interconnected Caribbean world.

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Plate Tectonics Origin of the Caribbean Mountain System of Northern South America: Discussion and Proposal

Geological Society of America Bulletin ◽

10.1130/0016-7606(1974)85<669:ptootc>2.0.co;2 ◽

1974 ◽

Vol 85 (5) ◽

pp. 669 ◽

Cited By ~ 59

Author(s):

WALTER V. MARESCH

Keyword(s):

South America ◽

Plate Tectonics ◽

Mountain System ◽

The Caribbean ◽

Northern South America

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Fall and Winter Movements of Newfoundland Graycheeked Thrushes (Catharus Minimus Minimus)

Animal Migration ◽

10.1515/ami-2018-0004 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 5 (1) ◽

pp. 42-48 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Darroch M. Whitaker ◽

Ian G. Warkentin ◽

Keith A. Hobson ◽

Peter Thomas ◽

Rinchen Boardman

Keyword(s):

South America ◽

Central America ◽

Sierra Nevada ◽

Winter Habitat ◽

Winter Range ◽

Contemporary Research ◽

The Caribbean ◽

Northern South America ◽

Migratory Stopover

Abstract The Newfoundland subspecies of Gray-cheeked Thrush (Catharus minimus minimus) has declined since the 1980s and degradation of winter habitat has been suggested as a contributing stressor. However, the winter range of this subspecies is not well understood, so we fitted 29 males with archival GPS tags during summer 2016. Four tagged thrushes were recaptured in summer 2017 and, though all tags had missing locations and broken antennae, the data retrieved showed that one thrush wintered in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta (SNSM) in northern Colombia, one in the nearby Sierra de Perija in Venezuela, and a third may have settled in the same region. One tag provided locations until April 21 and that thrush was consistently detected within a ~1 ha area through the winter. Locations obtained during fall migration indicated that thrushes travelled to South America via Central America and possibly by directly crossing the Caribbean. Contemporary research indicates that the SNSM is an important migratory stopover for Northern Gray-cheeked Thrushes (C. m. aliciae) but a historical report coupled with our observations suggest winter use of the SNSM and adjacent areas in northern South America by C. m. minimus, though numbers may be lower than during the 1900s.

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Genomic Tools for the Conservation and Genetic Improvement of a Highly Fragmented Breed—The Ramo Grande Cattle from the Azores

Animals ◽

10.3390/ani10061089 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (6) ◽

pp. 1089

Author(s):

Andreia J. Amaral ◽

Ana L. Pavão ◽

Luis T. Gama

Keyword(s):

Population Size ◽

Effective Population Size ◽

Genome Wide Association Study ◽

Cattle Breed ◽

Production Traits ◽

Effective Population ◽

Age At First Calving ◽

Large Effective Population Size ◽

Genomic Inbreeding ◽

Genomic Regions

Ramo Grande is a local cattle breed raised in the archipelago of Azores, with a small and dispersed census, where inbreeding control is of utmost importance. A single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) Beadchip array was used to assess inbreeding, by analysis of genomic regions harboring contiguous homozygous genotypes named runs of homozygosity (ROH), and to estimate past effective population size by analysis of linkage disequilibrium (LD). Genetic markers associated with production traits were also investigated, exploiting the unique genetic and adaptation features of this breed. A total of 639 ROH with length >4 Mb were identified, with mean length of 14.96 Mb. The mean genomic inbreeding was 0.09, and long segments of ROH were common, indicating recent inbred matings. The LD pattern indicates a large effective population size, suggesting the inflow of exotic germplasm in the past. The genome-wide association study identified novel markers significantly affecting longevity, age at first calving and direct genetic effects on calf weight. These results provide the first evidence of the association of longevity with genes related with DNA recognition and repair, and the association of age at first calving with aquaporin proteins, which are known to have a crucial role in reproduction.

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Definition of the Caribbean Islands biogeographic region, with checklist and recommendations for standardized common names of amphibians and reptiles

Caribbean Herpetology ◽

10.31611/ch.67 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 1-53

Author(s):

S. Blair Hedges ◽

Robert Powell ◽

Robert W. Henderson ◽

Sarah Hanson ◽

John C. Murphy

Keyword(s):

South America ◽

Human Population ◽

Biological Study ◽

Population Densities ◽

The Bahamas ◽

Caribbean Islands ◽

Biogeographic Region ◽

The Caribbean ◽

Definition Of ◽

Conservation Threats

To facilitate biological study we define “Caribbean Islands” as a biogeographic region that includes the Antilles, the Bahamas, and islands bordering Central and South America separated from mainland areas by at least 20 meters of water depth. The advantages of this definition are that it captures nearly all islands with endemic species and with at least some Antillean-derived species, and still circumscribes a region of high biodiversity and biogeographic significance. We argue that Caribbean islands, in this expanded sense, are also cohesive from a conservation standpoint in that they share high human population densities and similar conservation threats. A disadvantage of this definition, strictly applied, is that it includes some islands (e.g., Trinidad) that have mostly mainland species. However, we propose that researchers can increase the stringency of the definition so that it is less inclusive, and make comparisons between different definitions as needed. We provide an updated checklist with standardized common English names for the 1,013 species of amphibians and reptiles occurring in the region, along with principles for constructing common names.

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Decision letter: A large effective population size for established within-host influenza virus infection

10.7554/elife.56915.sa1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Georgii A Bazykin

Keyword(s):

Influenza Virus ◽

Virus Infection ◽

Population Size ◽

Effective Population Size ◽

Influenza Virus Infection ◽

Effective Population ◽

Large Effective Population Size

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Paleo American finds from Venezuela: evidence to discuss the spread of Fell Points and the peopling of Northern South America

Revista Cadernos do Ceom ◽

10.22562/2016.45.08 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 29 (45) ◽

pp. 212 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Hugo G. Nami

Keyword(s):

South America ◽

Continental Shelf ◽

Additional Data ◽

Caribbean Sea ◽

Hunter Gatherers ◽

Human Dispersal ◽

Manufacturing Procedure ◽

Human Colonization ◽

The Caribbean ◽

Northern South America

“Fishtail” or just “Fell” points represent an excellent marker to know and discuss the existence of colonizers hunter-gatherers living in Central and South America during the end of the Pleistocene at about 11000-10000 14C yr BP. Investigations of Venezuelan fishtail points yielded additional data on their manufacturing procedure to help discuss the human colonization of northern South America. The finds from northern Venezuela on the Caribbean Sea yielded a link arguing for the use of the Atlantic slope and the current continental shelf during human dispersal in South America.“Rabo de peixe” ou somente pontas Fell representam um excelente indicador para conhecer e discutir a existência de colonizadores caçadores-coletores que viveram na América Central e do Sul durante o final do Pleistoceno há aproximadamente 11.000-10.000 14C anos AP. Pesquisas com pontas Rabo de peixe da Venezuela proporcionaram dados adicionais sobre o seu processo de fabricação contribuindo na discussão da colonização humana do norte da América do Sul. As descobertas do norte da Venezuela no Mar do Caribe defendem a utilização da vertente Atlântica e da plataforma continental atual durante a dispersão humana na América do Sul.

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