A report on some pontoniinid shrimps collected from the Seychelle Islands by the F.R.V. Manihine, 1972, with a review of the Seychelles pontoniinid shrimp fauna

A collection of pontoniinid shrimps, principally from the Islands of Mahé and Praslin, in the western Indian Ocean, is described. Twenty-four species were collected, including two new species, Periclimenes difficilis and Periclimenaeus manihinei. Twenty-two species are considered to be commensals and the hosts of many are identified. The early juvenile stages of several species were collected and are described for the first time. The incidence of regeneration in the second pereiopods is studied in detail in Coralliocaris graminea. The pontoniinid shrimp fauna of the Seychelle Islands is reveiwed and its geographic distribution summarized. Two of the species reported are new records for the Indian Ocean and eight are newly added to the Seychelles fauna.     

Genetic architecture of a small, recently aggregated Aleut population: Bering Island, Russia

The fishing community of Bering Island, located in the Russian Commander Islands off the Kamchatka Peninsula, was originally founded by a small number of Russian soldiers and merchants, along with Aleuts forcibly relocated from the western region of the Aleutian archipelago. The purpose of this study is to characterize the genetic variation of Bering Island inhabitants for autosomal, mitochondrial, and Y-chromosome DNA and classic genetic markers and to investigate the genetic impact of the 19th-century founding and subsequent demographic events on this heterogeneous community. Our results show a loss of diversity among maternal lineages in the Bering Aleut population, with fixation of mtDNA haplogroup D, as revealed by median-joining network analysis and mismatch differences. Conversely, paternal haplotypes exhibit an increase in diversity and the presence of a substantial number of non-Native lineages. Admixture results, based on autosomal STR data, indicate that parental contributions to the mixed Aleut population of Bering are approximately 60% Aleut and 40% Russian. Classic genetic markers show affinities between the Bering Island Aleuts and the other historically founded Aleut communities of St. Paul and St. George in the Pribilof Islands, Alaska. This study demonstrates that the opposing evolutionary forces of genetic drift and gene flow acted on the maternal and paternal lineages, respectively, to shape the genetic structure of the present-day inhabitants of Bering Island.     

Origins of Aleuts and the genetic structure of populations of the archipelago: molecular and archaeological perspectives

We summarize the results of a field and laboratory research program (1999-2006) in the Aleutian Islands on the origins of the inhabitants of the archipelago and the genetic structure of these populations. The Aleuts show closest genetic affinity to the contemporary Siberian Eskimos and Chukchi of Chukotka and differ significantly from the populations of Kamchatka (the terminus of the archipelago) and Alaskan Eskimos. Our findings support the hypothesis that the ancestors of the Aleuts crossed Beringia and expanded westerly into the islands approximately 9,000 years ago. The Monmonier algorithm indicates genetic discontinuity between contemporary Kamchatkan populations and western Aleut populations, suggesting that island hopping from Kamchatka into the western Aleutian Islands was highly unlikely. The primary determinant of the distribution of genes throughout the archipelago is geography. The most intimate relationship exists between the genetics (based on mtDNA sequences and intermatch/mismatch distances) and geographic distances (measured in kilometers). However, the Y-chromosome haplogroup frequencies are not significantly correlated with the geography of the Aleutian Islands. The underlying patterns of precontact genetic structure based on Y-chromosome markers of the Aleut populations is obscured because of the gene flow from Russian male colonizers and Scandinavian and English fishermen. We consider alternative theories about the peopling of the Americas from Siberia. In addition, we attempt a synthesis between archaeological and genetic data for the Aleutian Islands.     

Significance of new records of Tridacna squamosa Lamarck, 1819, in the Tuamotu and Gambier Archipelagos (French Polynesia)

The giant clam subfamily Tridacninae (family Cardiidae) is an important group of bivalve molluscs found throughout the Red Sea and Indo-Pacific, from East Africa to the Eastern Pacific biogeographic region. The Tridacna genus is currently revised with numerous cryptic species identified with molecular markers. New Tridacna records from the fringe of the known distribution areas are extremely useful to identify genetically unique species, geographic ranges, and to examine processes associated with species differentiation. While Tridacna maxima is abundant in French Polynesia (Central South Pacific Ocean) the larger fluted giant clam Tridacna squamosa was formerly reported only in the Austral Islands in the south. Following a recent survey that spanned 23 islands and atolls of the Society, Tuamotu and Gambier Archipelagos, the presence of T. squamosa between the Cook Islands and Pitcairn Islands is confirmed using both morphological and molecular information, suggesting a relic distribution across the Central Pacific Ocean. Tridacna squamosa is rare, but present throughout Tuamotu and Gambier. However, it remained undetected from the Society Islands, probably due to historical over-fishing. This species is valued by local inhabitants, and is sought after mainly as gifts and also for a limited local shell trade. The rarity of T. squamosa may call for conservation measures in the near future.     

Genetic affinities of the Andaman Islanders,a vanishing human population

BACKGROUND: The Andaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal are inhabited by hunter-gatherers of unknown origin, now on the verge of extinction. The Andamanese and other Asian small-statured peoples, traditionally known as "Negritos," resemble African pygmies. However, it is generally believed that they descend from the early Australo-Melanesian settlers of Southeast Asia and that their resemblance to some Africans is due to adaptation to a similar environment, rather than shared origins.RESULTS: We analyzed mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequences and RFLP polymorphisms, and Y chromosome biallelic markers and microsatellites, in present-day Andamanese of the Onge, Jarawa, and Great Andamanese tribes, and of inhabitants of the neighboring Nicobar Islands. We also analyzed mtDNA sequences from Andamanese hair samples collected by an ethnographer during 1906-1908. Living Andamanese exhibit low genetic variability that is consistent with their small population size and reproductive isolation.CONCLUSIONS: Our data indicate that the Andamanese have closer affinities to Asian than to African populations and suggest that they are the descendants of the early Palaeolithic colonizers of Southeast Asia. In contrast, the Nicobarese have genetic affinities to groups widely distributed throughout Asia today, presumably descended from Neolithic agriculturalists.     

An assessment of health and disease in the prehistoric inhabitants of the Mariana Islands

Using a variety of skeletal and dental stress indicators, an assessment of the health and disease of the indigenous inhabitants of the Mariana Islands, the Chamorro, is made. The major hypothesis to be tested is that the Chamorro were relatively healthy and that deviations from the expected, as well as inter-island variation, may reflect environmental, ecological, and cultural differences. The major skeletal series surveyed include sites on Guam (N = 247 individuals), Rota (N = 14), Tinian (N = 20), and Saipan (N = 102). The majority of the specimens are from the transitional pre-Latte (AD 1–1000) and Latte (AD 1000–1521) periods. These data derive primarily from unpublished osteological reports. The indicators of health and disease surveyed include mortality and paleodemographic data, stature, dental paleopathology, cribra orbitalia, limb bone fractures, degenerative osteoarthritis, and infectious disease (including treponemal infection). Where appropriate, tests of significance are calculated to determine the presence of any patterning in the differences observed within and between the skeletal series. Information recorded in prehistoric Hawaiians provides a standard for external comparisons. Several of the larger skeletal series surveyed have paleodemographic features that are consistent with long-term cemetery populations. Females and subadults are typically underrepresented. Most subadult deaths occur in the 2–5 year age interval. Life expectancy at birth ranges from 26.4 to 33.7 years. A healthy fertility rate is indicated for these series. The prehistoric inhabitants of the Mariana Islands were relatively tall, exceeding living Chamorros measured in the early part of the present century. The greater prevalence of developmental defects in the enamel suggests that the Chamorro were exposed to more stress than prehistoric Hawaiians. The low frequency of cribra orbitalia further indicates iron deficiency anemia was not a problem. There are generally low frequencies of dental pathology in the remains from the Mariana Islands. Betel-nut staining is relatively common in all series which may help to explain the relatively low prevalence of dental pathology. Healed limb bone fractures are rare in these skeletal series; the frequency and patterns of fractures suggest accidental injury as the main cause. Greater physical demands involving the lower back region are indicated by a high frequency of spondylolysis, or stress fracture in the lumbar vertebrae in the Chamorro. Likewise, advanced degenerative bone changes, while of low occurrence, are significantly greater in the Chamorro than Hawaiians. The prevalence of skeletal and dental indicators of stress was generally higher in the smaller islands of the Marianas chain (e.g., Rota), islands with fewer resources to buffer environmental catastrophe. Bony changes suggestive of treponemal (probably yaws) disease are common in most of these Marianas Islands skeletal series. Am J Phys Anthropol 104:315–342, 1997. © 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Analysis of mitochondrial DNA diversity in the aleuts of the commander islands and its implications for the genetic history of beringia

The Aleuts are aboriginal inhabitants of the Aleutian archipelago, including Bering and Copper (Medny) Islands of the Commanders, and seem to be the survivors of the inhabitants of the southern belt of the Bering Land Bridge that connected Chukotka/Kamchatka and Alaska during the end of the Ice Age. Thirty mtDNA samples collected in the Commanders, as well as seven mtDNA samples from Sireniki Eskimos in Chukotka who belong to the Beringian-specific subhaplogroup D2, were studied through complete sequencing. This analysis has provided evidence that all 37 of these mtDNAs are closely related, since they share the founding haplotype for subhaplogroup D2. We also demonstrated that, unlike the Eskimos and Na-Dene, the Aleuts of the Commanders were founded by a single lineage of haplogroup D2, which had acquired the novel transversion mutation 8910A. The phylogeny of haplogroup D complete sequences showed that (1) the D2 root sequence type originated among the latest inhabitants of Beringia and (2) the Aleut 8910A sublineage of D2 is a part of larger radiation of rooted D2, which gave rise to D2a (Na-Dene), D2b (Aleut), and D2c (Eskimo) sublineages. The geographic specificity and remarkable intrinsic diversity of D2 lineages support the refugial hypothesis, which assumes that the founding population of Eskimo-Aleut originated in Beringan/southwestern Alaskan refugia during the early postglacial period, rather than having reached the shores of Alaska as the result of recent wave of migration from interior Siberia.     

Denisova admixture and the first modern human dispersals into Southeast Asia and Oceania

It has recently been shown that ancestors of New Guineans and Bougainville Islanders have inherited a proportion of their ancestry from Denisovans, an archaic hominin group from Siberia. However, only a sparse sampling of populations from Southeast Asia and Oceania were analyzed. Here, we quantify Denisova admixture in 33 additional populations from Asia and Oceania. Aboriginal Australians, Near Oceanians, Polynesians, Fijians, east Indonesians, and Mamanwa (a "Negrito" group from the Philippines) have all inherited genetic material from Denisovans, but mainland East Asians, western Indonesians, Jehai (a Negrito group from Malaysia), and Onge (a Negrito group from the Andaman Islands) have not. These results indicate that Denisova gene flow occurred into the common ancestors of New Guineans, Australians, and Mamanwa but not into the ancestors of the Jehai and Onge and suggest that relatives of present-day East Asians were not in Southeast Asia when the Denisova gene flow occurred. Our finding that descendants of the earliest inhabitants of Southeast Asia do not all harbor Denisova admixture is inconsistent with a history in which the Denisova interbreeding occurred in mainland Asia and then spread over Southeast Asia, leading to all its earliest modern human inhabitants. Instead, the data can be most parsimoniously explained if the Denisova gene flow occurred in Southeast Asia itself. Thus, archaic Denisovans must have lived over an extraordinarily broad geographic and ecological range, from Siberia to tropical Asia.     

Genetic history of Aleuts of the Komandor islands from results of analyzing variability of class II HLA genes

Variability of the HLA class II genes (alleles of the DRB1, DQA1, and DQB1 loci) was investigated in a sample of Aleuts of the Commanders (n = 31), whose ancestors inhabited the Commander Islands for many thousand years. Among 19 haplotypes revealed in Aleuts of the Commanders, at most eight were inherited from the native inhabitants of the Commander Islands. Five of these haplotypes (DRB1*0401-DQA1*0301-DQB1*0301, DRB1*1401-DQA1*0101-DQB1*0503, DRB1*0802-DQA1*0401-DQB1*0402, DRB1*1101-DQA1*0501-DQB1*0301, and DRB1*1201-DQA1*0501-DQB1*0301) were typical of Beringian Mongoloids, i.e., Coastal Chukchi and Koryaks, as well as Siberian and Alaskan Eskimos. Genetic contribution of the immigrants to the genetic pool of proper Aleuts constituted about 52%. Phylogenetic analysis based on Transberingian distribution of the DRB1 allele frequencies favored the hypothesis on the common origin of Paleo-Aleuts, Paleo-Eskimos, and the Indians from the northwestern North America, whose direct ancestors survived in Beringian/southwestern Alaskan coastal refugia during the late Ice Age.     

Genetic History of Aleuts of the Commander Islands as Revealed by the Analysis of the HLA Class II Gene Variability

Variability of the HLA class II genes (alleles of the DRB1, DQA1, and DQB1 loci) was investigated in a sample of Aleuts of the Commanders (n = 31), whose ancestors inhabited the Commander Islands for many thousand years. Among 19 haplotypes revealed in the Aleuts of the Commanders, at most eight were inherited from the native inhabitants of the Commander Islands. Five of these haplotypes (DRB1*0401-DQA1*0301-DQB1*0301, DRB1*1401-DQA1*0101-DQB1*0503, DRB1*0802-DQA1*0401-DQB1*0402, DRB1*1101-DQA1*0501-DQB1*0301, and DRB1*1201-DQA1*0501-DQB1*0301) were typical of Beringian Mongoloids, i.e., Coastal Chukchi and Koryaks, as well as Siberian and Alaskan Eskimos. Genetic contribution of the immigrants to the genetic pool of the proper Aleuts constituted about 52%. Phylogenetic analysis based on Transberingian distribution of the DRB1 allele frequencies favored the hypothesis on the common origin of the Paleo-Aleuts, Paleo-Eskimos, and the Indians from the northwestern North America, whose direct ancestors survived in Beringian/southwestern Alaskan coastal refugia during the late Ice Age.     

Paleodietary analysis on the prehistoric population of El Hierro (Canary Islands)

In order to deepen our knowledge of the dietary habits of the prehispanic inhabitants of El Hierro, we have determined bone strontium (Sr), manganese (Mn), magnesium (Mg), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), and calcium (Ca) in 52 human tibiae (23 belonging to males and 20 to females individuals) buried in a single burial cave; in 21 modern individuals who served as controls; and in 11 bones of herbivores found at archeological sites of the Canary Islands. Results suggest that females consumed a more vegetarian diet, although site-corrected Sr/Ca ratio of both males and females speaks for a mixed-diet consumption.     

Paleodietary analysis on the prehistoric population of El Hierro (Canary Islands)

In order to deepen our knowledge of the dietary habits of the prehispanic inhabitants of El Hierro, we have determined bone strontium (Sr), manganese (Mn), magnesium (Mg), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), and calcium (Ca) in 52 human tibiae (23 belonging to male and 20 to female individuals) buried in a single burial cave; in 21 modern individuals who served as controls; and in 11 bones of herbivores found at archeological sites of the Canary Islands. Results suggest that females consumed a more vegetarian diet, although site-corrected Sr/Ca ratio of both males and females speaks for a mixed-diet consumption.     

Radiocarbon evidence for a prehistoric deliberate translocation: the weasel (Mustela nivalis) of Mallorca

We present radiocarbon evidence for the presence of the weasel (Mustela nivalis) on Mallorca prior to the Roman colonization of the Balearics. Bone collagen from a single specimen recovered at Cova del Ninot, Mallorca rendered two radiocarbon ages, independently obtained at two laboratories (2σ interval: 386–206 cal BC). These dates indicate that the translocation of the weasel to Mallorca occurred in Late Prehistory. The inhabitants of Mallorca at that time were the Talaiotic people (Iron Age settlers of the Balearics). The weasel appears to have been introduced by Talaiotic mercenaries returning to the island on Carthaginian ships. This is the first documented case of the translocation of a wild carnivorous mammal to the Gymnesic Islands (i.e., Mallorca and Menorca) in prehistoric times. Some ecological consequences of this invasion are outlined.     

The Watinglo mandible: A second terminal Pleistocene Homo sapiens fossil from tropical Sahul with a test on existing models for the human settlement of the region

This paper analyses a fossil human mandible, dated to circa 10 ka, from Watinglo rockshelter on the north coast of Papua New Guinea. The fossil is metrically and morphologically similar to male mandibles of recent Melanesians and Australian Aborigines. It is distinguished from Kow Swamp and Coobool Creek male mandibles (Murray Valley, terminal Pleistocene) by being smaller and having different shape characteristics, as well as smaller teeth and a slower rate of tooth wear. It pairs with the Liang Lemdubu female (Late Glacial Maximum, Aru Islands) in suggesting that the morphology of the terminal Pleistocene inhabitants of tropical Sahul was gracile compared to their contemporaries within the southern Murray drainage. An explanatory scenario for this morphological contrast is developed in the context of the Homo sapiens early fossil record, Australasian mtDNA evidence, terminal Pleistocene climatic variation, and the possibility of multiple entry points into Sahul.     

Human T-cell lymphotropic virus type I infection and disease in the Pacific basin.

Human T-cell lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I), the cause of adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATLL) and HTLV-I-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP), is widespread in the Pacific basin. Modes of virus transmission include blood transfusion (and intravenous drug use), breast milk, and sexual intercourse. High prevalences of HTLV-I infection and disease occur among the inhabitants of southwestern Japan and among first- and second-generation (issei and nisei) Japanese-Americans in the Hawaiian Islands. Other Pacific populations with high prevalences of HTLV-I infection include several remote groups in West New Guinea, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu, which have had no contact with Japanese or Africans. By contrast, Micronesian and Polynesian populations, even those with prolonged contact with Japanese, exhibit low prevalences or no evidence of HTLV-I infection. Low prevalences of infection are also found in Australia, except among some aboriginal populations. Changing patterns of HTLV-I infection and disease are no better exemplified than in Japan, where striking reductions in transfusion-acquired infection and subsequent development of HAM/TSP have followed the institution of nationwide screening of blood donors for HTLV-I infection. Furthermore, virus transmission from mother to infant by means of infected breast milk has been markedly curtailed in HTLV-I-hyperendemic regions in Japan by interrupting the practice of breast feeding by HTLV-I-infected mothers. The next frontier of HTLV-I research is in Melanesia, where highly divergent sequence variants of HTLV-I have been discovered.     

Microbial hitchhikers on intercontinental dust: catching a lift in Chad

Ancient mariners knew that dust whipped up from deserts by strong winds travelled long distances, including over oceans. Satellite remote sensing revealed major dust sources across the Sahara. Indeed, the Bodélé Depression in the Republic of Chad has been called the dustiest place on earth. We analysed desert sand from various locations in Chad and dust that had blown to the Cape Verde Islands. High throughput sequencing techniques combined with classical microbiological methods showed that the samples contained a large variety of microbes well adapted to the harsh desert conditions. The most abundant bacterial groupings in four different phyla included: (a) Firmicutes—Bacillaceae, (b) Actinobacteria—Geodermatophilaceae, Nocardiodaceae and Solirubrobacteraceae, (c) Proteobacteria—Oxalobacteraceae, Rhizobiales and Sphingomonadaceae, and (d) Bacteroidetes—Cytophagaceae. Ascomycota was the overwhelmingly dominant fungal group followed by Basidiomycota and traces of Chytridiomycota, Microsporidia and Glomeromycota. Two freshwater algae (Trebouxiophyceae) were isolated. Most predominant taxa are widely distributed land inhabitants that are common in soil and on the surfaces of plants. Examples include Bradyrhizobium spp. that nodulate and fix nitrogen in Acacia species, the predominant trees of the Sahara as well as Herbaspirillum (Oxalobacteraceae), a group of chemoorganotrophic free-living soil inhabitants that fix nitrogen in association with Gramineae roots. Few pathogenic strains were found, suggesting that African dust is not a large threat to public health.     

Craniometric variation in the Aleutians: integrating morphological, molecular, spatial, and temporal data

Several hypotheses have been put forward about the origins and evolution of the inhabitants of the Aleutian Islands. Both Hrdli?ka [The Aleutian and Commander Islands and Their Inhabitants (Philadelphia: Wistar Institute of Anatomy and Biology, 1945)] and Laughlin ["The Alaska gateway viewed from the Aleutian Islands," in Papers on the Physical Anthropology of the American Indian, W. S. Laughlin, ed. (New York: Viking Fund, 1951), 98-126] analyzed cranial morphology and came to somewhat different conclusions using a typological approach and limited analytical methods. Subsequent investigations using morphological data have not significantly improved our understanding of Aleut prehistory. More recently, radiocarbon dating and mitochondrial DNA analyses have shed light on Aleut genetic variation and changes over time, but better morphological methods using multivariate statistical analysis have not yet been used. We analyzed craniometric data using multivariate procedures and found that Aleuts demonstrate significant changes in cranial morphology over time, and these changes correspond to Hrdli?ka's observations but may not necessarily reflect in-migration. The morphological changes were concentrated in the very aspects of morphology that are easily observable and that Hrdli?ka most often measured, namely, cranial length, breadth, and height, but they were obscured when craniometric variation as a whole was analyzed. Also, we found that the morphological changes over time were not related to the changes in haplogroup frequencies over time, suggesting that migration into the Aleutians did not play a significant role in producing the morphological changes. However, craniometric variability apparently increases over time, suggesting in-migration, localized selection, and/or greater environmental heterogeneity. Our results contradict Laughlin's observations but may be more in line with his hypothesis of in situ evolutionary changes absent gene flow. In addition to selection, gene flow, and gene drift, however, sociocultural changes must also be considered as a factor in why morphology changed over time.     

Stable nitrogen and carbon isotope ratios in bone collagen as indices of prehistoric dietary dependence on marine and terrestrial resources in southern California

The ratios of 15N to 14N and 13C to 12C tend to be higher in marine than in terrestrial organisms. The concentrations of these isotopes in human bone collagen consequently can be used to make inferences about the contribution of marine and terrestrial resources to prehistoric diets. The utility of studying 15N/14N and 13C/12C ratios in conjunction with each other is illustrated by our analysis of 40 human burials from archaeological sites in the Santa Barbara Channel area of southern California. The mean delta 13C and delta 15N values (in per mil) of collagen from these skeletons decrease progressively from the Channel Islands (delta 13C = -14.0, delta 15N = +16.3) to the mainland coast (delta 13C = -14.5, delta 15N = +14.9) to the interior (delta 13C = -17.2, delta 15N = +10.9). These data suggest that Indians living on the Channel Islands during the late prehistoric period were heavily dependent on marine resources. The inhabitants of the mainland interior, in contrast, had a diet composed largely of terrestrial foods. From their isotope ratios, it appears that the Indians who lived on the mainland coast consumed a mixed diet containing substantial quantities of both marine and terrestrial resources. Differences in 15N/14N and 13C/12C ratios of individuals from mainland sites dating from the early and late prehistoric periods show that the marine component of the diet increased substantially through time. These isotopic data are consistent with pathological, faunal, and artifactual evidence of increased marine resource exploitation during the late prehistoric period.     

Canary islands-north African population affinities: measures of divergence based on dental morphology

This investigation addresses two related questions about the origins and biological affinities of the Canary Islands' aboriginal inhabitants. First: With which North African populations do the pre-conquest inhabitants of the Canary Islands have their greatest affinities? Second: Does inter-island biological variability among the Canary Islanders, as has been suggested by other researchers (Hooton 1925, Schwidetzky 1963), imply that potentially different founding populations remained distinct during the pre-conquest period? This study employs dental morphology data derived from pre-conquest skeletons to answer these questions. Non-metric dental traits appear to be controlled by polygenic systems with a low to moderate environmental contribution to the resulting phenotype (Berry 1978, Harris & Bailit 1980, Nichol 1990) and can thus be assumed to reflect genetic relationships. The dental morphology of a sample of Canary Islanders (n = 397) is compared to that of Northwest African samples of Algerian Shawia Berbers (n = 26), Kabyle Berbers (n = 32), Bedouin Arabs (n = 49) and Punic Carthaginians (n = 28) as well as to six samples from Northeast Africa (n = 307) included for the purpose of understanding Canary Islanders' affinities within a wider context. The analysis employs 28 dental traits, quantifying differences in their expression among the various samples through a summary statistic, CAB Smith's Mean Measure of Divergence (MMD). The MMD analysis indicates that the Canary Island sample is most similar to the four samples from Northwest Africa: the Shawia Berbers, Kabyle Berbers, Bedouin Arabs and Carthaginians, less similar to the three Egyptian samples and least like the three Nubian samples. An intra-island comparison among samples from La Gomera, Gran Canaria and Tenerife reveals low, insignificant MMD values in all cases, implying that inter-island dental morphology differences are not so great as to require hypotheses of separate founding populations.     

Capsicum frutescens L. in Southeast and East Asia, and its dispersal routes into Japan

Isozyme analyses were conducted to study the geographic variation ofCapsicum frutescens L. in Southeast and East Asia, and to investigate its dispersal routes into Japan. Eight enzymes (EST, EM, G6PD, GR, ME(A), PGI, PGM, ShDH) were variable among accessions ofC. frutescens in Southeast and East Asia. Accessions from the Ryukyu Islands were closely related to those in Indonesia, whereas accessions from the Bonin Islands showed exactly the same isozyme patterns as those from Indonesia and Northern Thailand. Accessions in the Ryukyu Islands were different from those in the Bonin Islands, suggesting that there may be two independent dispersal routes into Japan. One route was from Indonesia via the Philippines or Taiwan, or directly to the Ryukyu Islands, and another was from Indonesia via the Mariana Islands, or other islands in the Pacific, to the Bonin Islands.