Strategies for determining kinship in wild populations using genetic data

Knowledge of kin relationships between members of wild animal populations has broad application in ecology and evolution research by allowing the investigation of dispersal dynamics, mating systems, inbreeding avoidance, kin recognition, and kin selection as well as aiding the management of endangered populations. However, the assessment of kinship among members of wild animal populations is difficult in the absence of detailed multigenerational pedigrees. Here, we first review the distinction between genetic relatedness and kinship derived from pedigrees and how this makes the identification of kin using genetic data inherently challenging. We then describe useful approaches to kinship classification, such as parentage analysis and sibship reconstruction, and explain how the combined use of marker systems with biparental and uniparental inheritance, demographic information, likelihood analyses, relatedness coefficients, and estimation of misclassification rates can yield reliable classifications of kinship in groups with complex kin structures. We outline alternative approaches for cases in which explicit knowledge of dyadic kinship is not necessary, but indirect inferences about kinship on a group‐ or population‐wide scale suffice, such as whether more highly related dyads are in closer spatial proximity. Although analysis of highly variable microsatellite loci is still the dominant approach for studies on wild populations, we describe how the long‐awaited use of large‐scale single‐nucleotide polymorphism and sequencing data derived from noninvasive low‐quality samples may eventually lead to highly accurate assessments of varying degrees of kinship in wild populations.     

Consanguinity avoidance and mate choice in Sottunga,Finland

Potential mates analysis is used to determine some of the social and demographic characteristics that influence mate choice in a small island population. Potential mate pools are defined for males in this population; characteristics such as population size and composition with respect to consanguinity are specified. Determinants of mate choice are examined in light of mate availability and potential mate pool characteristics for endogamous maters, exogamous maters, nonmaters, and males of various occupations. Random kinship is assessed from potential mate pools and compared to kinship between actual mates. The island community approximated a random mating population from 1700 to 1900 with some evidence for consanguinity avoidance intensifying in the period 1900–1950. Despite the island's small population size, kinship coefficients between random mates and actual mates are not high because of relatively high immigration rates. Having considered the contributions of various factors that influence mate choice, the significance of the island mating structure for genetic variation and the distributions of certain genetic disorders is discussed.     

The Old Kinship Studies Confronts Gay Kinship: A Critique of Kath Weston

Kath Weston's highly-acclaimed analysis of gay kinship is examined in the light of the old kinship studies, especially the notion of focality. The verdict is quite contrary to Weston's, viz. that gay kinship and the idea of gay families are structural derivatives of heterosexual kinship and heterosexual families. Weston's work is shown to be part of a larger collectivist project in kinship theory in which key concerns in semantic theory are ignored.     

Ancient DNA-typing approaches for the determination of kinship in a disturbed collective burial site

Several DNA-typing approaches are applied for identification and kinship analysis. Autosomal Short Tandem Repeat (STR) typing produces the genetic fingerprint that is unique to an individual. Y-chromosomal STR typing identifies individuals of the same paternal lineage, and sequence analysis of the hypervariable region of the mitochondrion can identify maternally related individuals. The combined approach of these DNA-typing methods allows the determination of kinship even in complex collective burial situations. In a bronze age collective site, the typing methods were tested for applicability to ancient DNA. For each approach, results were obtained, leading to the conclusion that the determination of kinship is achievable.     

The kin of the gene: the medicalization of family and kinship in American Society

In the past several decades there has been an explosion of research in genetics and on genetic inheritance. This new genetics is part of contemporary biomedicine and forecasts great advances in alleviating disease and prolonging human life. It also encompasses notions about biological family and kinship relations. I propose that with the advent of the new genetics, family and kinship are being medicalized. I explore the ways in which explanations of the inheritance of genetic disease influence people's understandings of family and kin and both reflect and conflict with broader current sociocultural processes. The discussion includes a brief overview of the anthropological study of kinship, the meaning of family and kinship in contemporary society, the concept of medicalization and its implications for people's lives as seen through narratives and concludes with an analysis the significance of the medicalization of family and kinship in present-day society.     

Kin Preference and Partner Choice

This paper presents a comparison of social kinship (patrilineage) and biological kinship (genetic relatedness) in predicting cooperative relationships in two different economic contexts in the fishing and whaling village of Lamalera, Indonesia. A previous analysis (Alvard, Human Nature 14:129-163, 2003) of boat crew affiliation data collected in the village in 1999 found that social kinship (patrilineage) was a better predictor of crew affiliation than was genetic kinship. A replication of this analysis using similar data collected in 2006 finds the same pattern: lineage is a better predictor than genetic kinship of crew affiliation, and the two together explain little additional variance over that explained by lineage alone. However, an analogous test on food-sharing relationships finds the opposite pattern: biological kinship is a better predictor of food-sharing relationships than is social kinship. The difference between these two cooperative contexts is interpreted in terms of kin preferences that shape partner choice, and the relative autonomy with which individuals can seek to satisfy those preferences. Drawing on stable matching theory, it is suggested that unilineal descent may serve as a stable compromise among multiple individuals' incongruent partner preferences, with patriliny favored over matriliny in the crew-formation context because it leads to higher mean degrees of relatedness among male cooperators. In the context of food-sharing, kin preferences can be pursued relatively autonomously, without the necessity of coordinating preferences with those of other households through the institution of lineage.     

The Criterion of Polarity

I wish to show that the criterion of polarity is inconsistent with Murdock's conceptual frame for the analysis of kinship terminology. The ignoring or recognition of polarity is a consequence of the ignoring or recognition of the other criteria. However, the criterion of polarity is not merely an unnecessary addition; it might also lead to wrong conclusions. The main error is that Murdock tries to define polarity, only being relevant on the relational level, on the Egocentered level, where kinship terminology is normally analyzed. [kinship terminology]     

'Knowing where you've come from': Ruptures and continuities of time and kinship in narratives of adoption reunions

This article, based on research in Scotland, discusses reunions between adults who have been adopted in infancy, and their birth kin. Although the distinction between 'biological' and 'social' kinship, which is central to the anthropological analysis of kinship, is clearly relevant to experiences of reunions, as it is to adoption more generally, this analytic focus is disrupted by issues of temporality, biographical completion, and memory, which both motivate and are raised by reunions. Narratives about adoption reunions can be used to illuminate the connections between these different themes. I explore the implications of these both for experiences of kinship in the West more generally and for the anthropological analysis of kinship.     

Genetic structure of the human population in the Po delta

The genetic structure of the population of Ferrara Province in the Po delta in Italy was investigated using chi 2 analysis, kinship analysis, analysis of correspondences, and geographical mapping of principal components of gene frequencies. chi 2 Analysis tests for Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium and for heterogeneity of gene and phenotype frequencies; kinship analysis tests for association between indicators of genetic and geographic proximity; analysis of correspondences relates localities and genetic systems in an eigenvectorial space; and geographic mapping displays the principal components of gene frequencies in the real space. In 1,364 adults in 26 residential units, seven presumably neutral isoenzyme systems were typed; ACP1 ESD, GLO I, GPT, PGD, PGM1 and PGP. It was found that average kinship for these neutral systems is correlated with geographic distance in this small area, but not as strongly as kinship for beta-thalassemia. A north-south gradient was observed for ESD. Analysis of correspondences indicated GPT, PGM1, and GLO I as the systems contributing most to differentiation within the province. The maps obtained from principal components of gene frequencies were consistent with the migrational history of the area.     

Death and Kinship in Hinduism: Structural and Functional Interpretations

This paper is, first, a structural analysis demonstrating that in Hindu sacred "law" death rites reflect a conception of kinship wherein intimacy is affected not only by such matters as genealogical distance, but also by differences in spiritual purity among kinsmen. Second, the paper shows that structural analysis of particular civilizations have more than intrinsic value, that they are also a necessary adjunct to highly general functional theories.     

Dispersal,kinship and inbreeding in an island population of the Great Tit

We investigated the kinship structure of an island population of the Great Tit (Parus major). Kinship of birds could be inferred by comparing their family trees. Dispersal was also studied to explain the observed pattern of kinship. On the island of Vlieland the tits breed in several wooded areas. Both males and females preferred to breed in their natal area; males did so more strongly than females. Hence gene flow between the areas is restricted. However, within the largest wooded area females showed random dispersal, while males showed a slight tendency to breed near their natal site. The degree of kinship of neighbouring birds is a suitable control group for the relatedness of partners that takes into account the effects of dispersal. In the largest wooded area, birds were on average equally related to their partner and to their neighbours. Moreover, the mean coefficient of kinship between male and female neighbours was equal to the average kinship in this part of the population. We conclude that mating is random with respect to kinship. There is no evidence for avoidance of inbreeding. It is unlikely that kin recognition plays an important role in the process of mate choice in this population of Great Tits. We suggest that ecological factors are the main causes for the observed patterns of dispersal and mating. On the island more female than male immigrants enter the population each year. Incidental data indicate an exchange of birds between the population studied and surrounding populations. Ancestries of immigrants are not known, and indeed a first analysis of all birds, including immigrants, showed that males were more closely related than females. However, differential immigration could not fully explain the observed difference in kinship. The presence of local adaptation in males is suggested as a possible additional cause.     

Beiträge zur: Anthropologie,ethnographie und sprachforschung der kashuiéna indianer sowie akkulturationserscheinungen

Studies of Dravidian kinship have neglected the importance of the cross‐sibling relationship. A comparative analysis of data gathered in a Sri Lankan Muslim community shows: (1) normative depictions of cross‐sibling relationships do not reflect or explain actual behavior patterns; and (2) variation in post‐marital cross‐sibling relationships is largely accounted for by the presence or absence and use of the dowry. The overarching purpose is to show that any comprehensive analysis of the Dravidian kinship system must include an analysis of cross‐sibling relationships and dowry practices.     

Cognitive Aspects of Step- Terms in American Kinship

In this article we extend the study of judged similarity among kinship terms from consanguineal to stepterms. Based on a sample of college students, we present a Euclidean representation of American kinship terms that shows that the distinction between consanguineal terms and step- terms is crucial. This representation matches predictions from the componential analysis paradigm and is shared by respondents of both genders with different ethnicities and first languages spoken. [American kinship, stepfamilies, correspondence analysis, consanguinity]     

中国小蜂科属间系统发育关系分析(膜翅目:小蜂科)

利用Hennig86程序的nelsen合意和Phylip程序的多数规则合意2种支序分析方法,探讨了中国小蜂科的系统发育关系。基于中国21属的30个性状,计算得到2个合意树,其分类系统与传统分类系统基本保持一致。在进化关系和亲缘关系上表现为:小蜂属(Chalcis)、卡诺小蜂属(Conura)、大腿小蜂属(Brachymeria)和脊柄小蜂属(Epitranus)相对最为原始,而泰内小蜂属(Tainaniella)和背突小蜂属(Oxycoryphe)相对最为进化,前者和后者之间的亲缘关系最远;亲缘关系最近的有:泰内小蜂属(Tainaniella)和背突小蜂属(Oxycoryphe),泊卡小蜂属(Proconura)和日本小蜂属(Nipponochalcidia),小蜂属(Chalcis)和卡诺小蜂属(Conura)以及细尾小蜂属(Megalocolus)和三角小蜂属(Trigonura),它们分别构成姊妹群关系。     

Individual DNA identification from ancient human remains.

Individual identification of ancient human remains is one of the most fundamental requisites for studies of paleo-population genetics, including kinship among ancient people, intra- and interpopulation structures in ancient times, and the origin of human populations. However, knowledge of these subjects has been based mainly on circumstantial archaeological evidence for kinship and intrapopulation structure and on genetic studies of modern human populations. Here we describe individual identification of ancient humans by using short-nucleotide tandem repeats and mtDNAs as genetic markers. The application of this approach to kinship analysis shows clearly the presence or absence of kinship among the ancient remains examined.     

Kinship vis-à-vis Myth Contrasts in Lévi-Strauss' Approaches to Cross-Cultural Comparison

The enormous secondary literature which relates Lévi-Strauss' comparative studies to different schools of thought has failed sufficiently to emphasize the major discontinuity within his own work. This paper characterizes the basic methodological differences in his approaches to "kinship" and to "myth." It then suggests how, by concentrating on the kinship/myth distinction, we might constructively refine various structuralist concepts, such as distinctive feature analysis and the logical foundations of the "elementary" kinship structures. Only by concentrating on the few inconsistencies in Lévi-Strauss' remarkably coherent corpus of work can an adequate critique of his theories of comparison be commenced.     

Individuality in a contact call of the ringtailed lemur (Lemur catta)

A vocalization of the ringtailed lemur (Lemur catta) was examined for individual differences according to several temporal- and frequency-dependent variables. Vocalizations were tape recorded at the Duke University Primate Center (Durham, NC) and spectrographically analyzed. Significant differences were found in pair-wise comparisons of call structure among the study subjects, thus providing the physical basis for individual discrimination. A separate analysis comparing degree of kinship and vocal similarity revealed a positive but nonsignificant correlation between these two variables. This study represents an initial examination of vocal individuality in prosimian primates.     

Kinship and Cooperation

Chagnon’s analysis of a well-known axe fight in the Yanomamö village of Mishimishiböwei-teri (Chagnon and Bugos 1979) is among the earliest empirical tests of kin selection theory for explaining cooperation in humans. Kin selection theory describes how cooperation can be organized around genetic kinship and is a fundamental tool for understanding cooperation within family groups. Previous analysis on groups of cooperative Lamaleran whale hunters suggests that the role of genetic kinship as a principle for organizing cooperative human groups could be less important in certain cases than previously thought (Alvard Human Nature 14:129–163, 2003b). Evidence that supports a strong role for genetic kinship—groups are found to be more related than expected by chance—may be spurious because of the correlation between social structure and genetic kinship. Reanalysis of Chagnon’s data using matrix regression techniques, however, confirms that genetic kinship was the primary organizing principle in the axe fight; affinal relations were also important, whereas lineage identity explained nothing.