Human capital, wealth, and nutrition in the Bolivian Amazon

We analyze anthropometric variables of a society of forager-horticulturalists in the Bolivian Amazon (Tsimane') in 2001-2002. Community variables (e.g., inequality, social capital) explain little of the variance in anthropometric indices of nutritional status, but individual-level variables (schooling, wealth) are positively correlated with nutritional status. Dietary quality (foods high in animal proteins), access to foraging technology, and traditional knowledge of medicinal plants are related to better anthropometric indices.     

On the accuracy of perceived parental height in a native Amazonian society

Studies of secular trends in adult height in rural pre-literate societies are likely to show no change owing to random measurement error in age. In such societies, adults lack birth certificates and guess when estimating their age. We assess the accuracy of perceived height of the same-sex parent to estimate secular trends. We tested the method among the Tsimane', a native Amazonian society of farmers and foragers in Bolivia. Subjects included 268 women and 287 men >20 years of age. Over half the sample reported inaccurately the height of their same-sex living parent, with a tendency to report no difference when, in fact, differences existed. Results highlight the pitfalls of using perceived parental height to examine secular trends in adult height among the Tsimane', though the method might yield accurate information in other societies. We discuss possible reasons for the low accuracy of Tsimane' estimates.     

Adult male height in an American colony: Puerto Rico and the USA mainland compared, 1886–1955

The links between adult height and socioeconomic-political marginality are controversial. We test hypotheses by comparing secular trends between two groups of USA adult male citizens born during 1886-1930: (a) 9805 men surveyed in Puerto Rico during 1965 and (b) 3064 non-Hispanic Whites surveyed on the mainland during 1971-1975. Puerto Rico provides an apt case study because it is the oldest colony in the world and was the poorest region of the USA during the 20th century. During the period considered the average adult man in Puerto Rico was 164.8 cm tall, 8.3 cm shorter than the average adult man on the mainland (173.1cm). Both groups experienced secular improvements in height, with men on the mainland having higher rates than men in Puerto Rico. In neither case were results statistically significant. The modest changes in Puerto Rico likely reflect the offsetting role of improved health and a stagnant rural economy during the first half of the 20th century.     

Tsimane’ Amazonian Panel Study (TAPS): The first 5 years (2002–2006) of socioeconomic, demographic, and anthropometric data available to the public

The Tsimane' Amazonian Panel Study (TAPS) is making available the first five years (2002-2006, inclusive) of annual socioeconomic, demographic, and anthropometric data available to the public. The information comes from a foraging-farming society of native Amazonians in Bolivia and includes 13 villages, 332 households, and 1985 people who have been tracked annually since 2002. The article provides a brief overview of the data covered and the steps needed to access the data.     

Changes in body size, shape and nutritional status of Middle-Class Bengali boys of Kolkata, India, 1982–2002

Growth changes over time among school-aged boys in Kolkata, India, have been investigated using two surveys: 1982--1983 (n=816) and 1999--2002 (n=1187). The two surveys were implemented according to highly similar protocols which strongly adds to the reliability and accuracy of the results of the study. Age-specific average height, weight and BMI all increased during these two decades (by respectively, 3.2cm, 6.1kg and 2.1kg/m2), while relative sitting height and sitting height-subischial leg length ratio decreased for almost all ages between 7.0 and 16.0 years. Moreover, the prevalence of stunting and thinness declined (stunting from 11.2% to 4.9%, p<0.01, thinness from 50.5% to 22%, p<0.01), while the prevalence of overweight increased (from 4.7% to 17.2%, p<0.01). Through analysis of variance, the relationships between various socio-economic factors and anthropometric traits are analyzed. Factors strongly related with positive changes in anthropometric traits are maternal education and family expenditure.     

Rothschild’s giraffe Giraffa camelopardalis rothschildi (Linnaeus, 1758) in East Africa: A review of population trends,taxonomy and conservation status

Giraffe populations have suffered a 40% decline in the past thirty years, making them a new priority for conservation and there are considerable uncertainty and disagreement over the taxonomic classification of giraffes. Consequently, there has never been a more critical time to fully understand the global population size and distribution of all giraffe subspecies. The Rothschild's giraffe Giraffa camelopardalis rothschildi (Linnaeus, 1758) is arguably one of the most imperilled giraffe subspecies. Once widespread across southern Sudan, Uganda and Kenya, the Rothschild's giraffe is now confined to a few, isolated and enclosed populations throughout Kenya and Uganda, with only one natural population remaining. Information about Rothschild's giraffe population size, distribution, and conservation history is patchy, and confined to recondite or inaccessible resources. Here, I present a review of taxonomy, distribution, conservation status and population size of the Rothschild's giraffe and present the most recent estimate of population sizes based on direct census data. Although the Latin name affixed to Rothschild's giraffe is subject to discussion, continued reference to this subspecies as G. c. rothschildi is strongly recommended.     

Genome of ‘Charleston Gray’, the principal American watermelon cultivar,and genetic characterization of 1,365 accessions in the U.S. National Plant Germplasm System watermelon collection

Years of selection for desirable fruit quality traits in dessert watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) has resulted in a narrow genetic base in modern cultivars. Development of novel genomic and genetic resources offers great potential to expand genetic diversity and improve important traits in watermelon. Here, we report a high‐quality genome sequence of watermelon cultivar ‘Charleston Gray’, a principal American dessert watermelon, to complement the existing reference genome from ‘97103’, an East Asian cultivar. Comparative analyses between genomes of ‘Charleston Gray’ and ‘97103’ revealed genomic variants that may underlie phenotypic differences between the two cultivars. We then genotyped 1365 watermelon plant introduction (PI) lines maintained at the U.S. National Plant Germplasm System using genotyping‐by‐sequencing (GBS). These PI lines were collected throughout the world and belong to three Citrullus species, C. lanatus, C. mucosospermus and C. amarus. Approximately 25 000 high‐quality single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were derived from the GBS data using the ‘Charleston Gray’ genome as the reference. Population genomic analyses using these SNPs discovered a close relationship between C. lanatus and C. mucosospermus and identified four major groups in these two species correlated to their geographic locations. Citrullus amarus was found to have a distinct genetic makeup compared to C. lanatus and C. mucosospermus. The SNPs also enabled identification of genomic regions associated with important fruit quality and disease resistance traits through genome‐wide association studies. The high‐quality ‘Charleston Gray’ genome and the genotyping data of this large collection of watermelon accessions provide valuable resources for facilitating watermelon research, breeding and improvement.