Displaying publications 101 - 120 of 317 in total

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  1. Hill JK, Gray MA, Khen CV, Benedick S, Tawatao N, Hamer KC
    Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci, 2011 Nov 27;366(1582):3265-76.
    PMID: 22006967 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2011.0050
    Large areas of tropical forest now exist as remnants scattered across agricultural landscapes, and so understanding the impacts of forest fragmentation is important for biodiversity conservation. We examined species richness and nestedness among tropical forest remnants in birds (meta-analysis of published studies) and insects (field data for fruit-feeding Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths) and ants). Species-area relationships were evident in all four taxa, and avian and insect assemblages in remnants typically were nested subsets of those in larger areas. Avian carnivores and nectarivores and predatory ants were more nested than other guilds, implying that the sequential loss of species was more predictable in these groups, and that fragmentation alters the trophic organization of communities. For butterflies, the ordering of fragments to achieve maximum nestedness was by fragment area, suggesting that differences among fragments were driven mainly by extinction. In contrast for moths, maximum nestedness was achieved by ordering species by wing length; species with longer wings (implying better dispersal) were more likely to occur at all sites, including low diversity sites, suggesting that differences among fragments were driven more strongly by colonization. Although all four taxa exhibited high levels of nestedness, patterns of species turnover were also idiosyncratic, and thus even species-poor sites contributed to landscape-scale biodiversity, particularly for insects.
    Matched MeSH terms: Population Dynamics
  2. Chow SW, Keshavmurthy S, Reimer JD, de Voogd N, Huang H, Wang JT, et al.
    PeerJ, 2022;10:e13451.
    PMID: 35669953 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.13451
    The first occurrence of the cyanobacteriosponge Terpios hoshinota was reported from coral reefs in Guam in 1973, but was only formally described in 1993. Since then, the invasive behavior of this encrusting, coral-killing sponge has been observed in many coral reefs in the West Pacific. From 2015, its occurrence has expanded westward to the Indian Ocean. Although many studies have investigated the morphology, ecology, and symbiotic cyanobacteria of this sponge, little is known of its population genetics and demography. In this study, a mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (COI) fragment and nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) were sequenced to reveal the genetic variation of T. hoshinota collected from 11 marine ecoregions throughout the Indo-West Pacific. Both of the statistical parsimony networks based on the COI and nuclear ITS2 were dominated by a common haplotype. Pairwise F ST and Isolation-by-distance by Mantel test of ITS2 showed moderate gene flow existed among most populations in the marine ecoregions of West Pacific, Coral Triangle, and Eastern Indian Ocean, but with a restricted gene flow between these regions and Maldives in the Central Indian Ocean. Demographic analyses of most T. hoshinota populations were consistent with the mutation-drift equilibrium, except for the Sulawesi Sea and Maldives, which showed bottlenecks following recent expansion. Our results suggest that while long-range dispersal might explain the capability of T. hoshinota to spread in the IWP, stable population demography might account for the long-term persistence of T. hoshinota outbreaks on local reefs.
    Matched MeSH terms: Population Dynamics
  3. Srisuka W, Takaoka H, Otsuka Y, Fukuda M, Thongsahuan S, Taai K, et al.
    Parasit Vectors, 2017 Nov 21;10(1):574.
    PMID: 29157269 DOI: 10.1186/s13071-017-2492-y
    BACKGROUND: Blackflies are an important medical and veterinary group of small blood-sucking insects. Ninety-three blackfly species have been reported in Thailand. However, information on their biodiversity and population dynamics in each region is lacking. The main aim of this study was to assess the regional biodiversity, seasonal abundance and distribution of blackflies in six eco-geographically different regions in the country.

    METHODS: Blackfly larvae and pupae were sampled monthly from 58 sites between May 2011 and April 2013. Diversity parameters, seasonal abundance, regional distribution and frequency of species occurrence in stream sites were analyzed.

    RESULTS: A total of 19,456 mature larvae representing 57 species, and belonging to six subgenera in the genus Simulium Latreille (s.l.), were found. The five predominant taxa were S. fenestratum (8.6%), the S. asakoae complex (8.3%), S. nakhonense (7.5%), the S. siamense complex (7.4%) and the S. doipuiense complex (6.7%). The most frequent taxa at all sites were the S. asakoae complex (84.5%), followed by S. fenestratum (82.8%), the S. siamense complex (75.9%), S. decuplum (60.3%), S. nakhonense (58.6%) and the S. tani complex (48.3%). The richness of regional species was highest (40 species) in the north and predominated in the cold season. However, blackflies in the south predominated during the hot season. The highest numbers of blackflies collected from central, northeastern, eastern and western regions of the country were observed in the rainy season. Overall, the mean number of blackflies collected across the six regions during the rainy and cold season had no statistically significant difference, but it differed significantly in the hot season.

    CONCLUSIONS: Blackflies in Thailand were surveyed in all three seasons across six geographical regions. These findings demonstrated that blackfly communities at each stream site varied with seasonality, and the regional relative abundance of blackflies differed markedly in the hot season. It was also found that the occurrence and distribution of blackflies in each region were associated strongly with elevation.

    Matched MeSH terms: Population Dynamics
  4. Dinh TD, Ambak MA, Hassan A, Phuong NT
    Pak J Biol Sci, 2007 Oct 01;10(19):3284-94.
    PMID: 19090143
    This study describe the reproductive biological characteristics and population parameters of the goby, Pseudapocryptes elongatus (Cuvier, 1816), in the coastal mud flat areas of the Mekong Delta, Vietnam. A total of 1058 specimens was collected from January 2004 to June 2005 and results showed that the breeding season occurred with two spawning peaks in July and October. Length at first maturity (L(m)) was 15.4 and 16.3 cm for females and males, respectively. The batch fecundity estimates ranged from 2,652 to 29,406 hydrated oocytes per ovary in the fish ranging from 12.8 to 22.4 cm TL. Length frequency data of the goby ranging from 9.0 to 24.0 cm TL were analyzed using the FiSAT II software. The von Bertalanffy growth parameters were determined as L8 = 25.9 cm, K = 0.66 year(-1) and t(o) = - 0.26 year(-1). The longevity (t(max)) of the goby was estimated to be 4.55 years. There were two recruitment peaks with very different magnitudes and the means of these two peaks were separated by an interval of 5 months. Length at first capture (L(c)) was 10.05 cm, the instantaneous fishing mortality rate (F = 1.38 year(-1)) and natural mortality rate (M = 1.46 year(-1)) accounted for 49 and 51% of the total mortality (Z = 2.84 year(-1)), respectively. Relative yield-per-recruit and biomass-per-recruit analyses gave E(max) = 0.65, E0.1 = 0.55 and E0.5 = 0.33. Results show that the fish stock is subjected to growth overexploitation.
    Matched MeSH terms: Population Dynamics
  5. Kazi S
    Pak Dev Rev, 1994;33(4 Pt 2):1333-44.
    PMID: 12346198
    Matched MeSH terms: Population Dynamics
  6. Winskill P, Carvalho DO, Capurro ML, Alphey L, Donnelly CA, McKemey AR
    PLoS Negl Trop Dis, 2015 Nov;9(11):e0004156.
    PMID: 26554922 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0004156
    BACKGROUND: Aedes aegypti, the principal vector of dengue fever, have been genetically engineered for use in a sterile insect control programme. To improve our understanding of the dispersal ecology of mosquitoes and to inform appropriate release strategies of 'genetically sterile' male Aedes aegypti detailed knowledge of the dispersal ability of the released insects is needed.

    METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The dispersal ability of released 'genetically sterile' male Aedes aegypti at a field site in Brazil has been estimated. Dispersal kernels embedded within a generalized linear model framework were used to analyse data collected from three large scale mark release recapture studies. The methodology has been applied to previously published dispersal data to compare the dispersal ability of 'genetically sterile' male Aedes aegypti in contrasting environments. We parameterised dispersal kernels and estimated the mean distance travelled for insects in Brazil: 52.8 m (95% CI: 49.9 m, 56.8 m) and Malaysia: 58.0 m (95% CI: 51.1 m, 71.0 m).

    CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our results provide specific, detailed estimates of the dispersal characteristics of released 'genetically sterile' male Aedes aegypti in the field. The comparative analysis indicates that despite differing environments and recapture rates, key features of the insects' dispersal kernels are conserved across the two studies. The results can be used to inform both risk assessments and release programmes using 'genetically sterile' male Aedes aegypti.

    Matched MeSH terms: Population Dynamics*
  7. Legido-Quigley H, Leh Hoon Chuah F, Howard N
    PLoS Med, 2020 11;17(11):e1003143.
    PMID: 33170834 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1003143
    BACKGROUND: Southeast Asian countries host signficant numbers of forcibly displaced people. This study was conducted to examine how health systems in Southeast Asia have responded to the health system challenges of forced migration and refugee-related health including the health needs of populations affected by forced displacement; the health systems-level barriers and facilitators in addressing these needs; and the implications of existing health policies relating to forcibly displaced and refugee populations. This study aims to fill in the gap in knowledge by analysing how health systems are organised in Southeast Asia to address the health needs of forcibly displaced people.

    METHODS AND FINDINGS: We conducted 30 semistructured interviews with health policy-makers, health service providers, and other experts working in the United Nations (n = 6), ministries and public health (n = 5), international (n = 9) and national civil society (n = 7), and academia (n = 3) based in Indonesia (n = 6), Malaysia (n = 10), Myanmar (n = 6), and Thailand (n = 8). Data were analysed thematically using deductive and inductive coding. Interviewees described the cumulative nature of health risks at each migratory phase. Perceived barriers to addressing migrants' cumulative health needs were primarily financial, juridico-political, and sociocultural, whereas key facilitators were many health workers' humanitarian stance and positive national commitment to pursuing universal health coverage (UHC). Across all countries, financial constraints were identified as the main challenges in addressing the comprehensive health needs of refugees and asylum seekers. Participants recommended regional and multisectoral approaches led by national governments, recognising refugee and asylum-seeker contributions, and promoting inclusion and livelihoods. Main study limitations included that we were not able to include migrant voices or those professionals not already interested in migrants.

    CONCLUSIONS: To our knowledge, this is one of the first qualitative studies to investigate the health concerns and barriers to access among migrants experiencing forced displacement, particularly refugees and asylum seekers, in Southeast Asia. Findings provide practical new insights with implications for informing policy and practice. Overall, sociopolitical inclusion of forcibly displaced populations remains difficult in these four countries despite their significant contributions to host-country economies.

    Matched MeSH terms: Population Dynamics
  8. Yamada T, Yamada Y, Okuda T, Fletcher C
    Oecologia, 2013 Jul;172(3):713-24.
    PMID: 23183820 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-012-2529-z
    Differences in the density of conspecific tree individuals in response to environmental gradients are well documented for many tree species, but how such density differences are generated and maintained is poorly understood. We examined the segregation of six dipterocarp species among three soil types in the Pasoh tropical forest, Malaysia. We examined how individual performance and population dynamics changed across the soil types using 10-year demographic data to compare tree performance across soil types, and constructed population matrix models to analyze the population dynamics. Species showed only minor changes in mortality and juvenile growth across soil types, although recruitment differed greatly. Clear, interspecific demographic trade-offs between growth and mortality were found in all soil types. The relative trade-offs by a species did not differ substantially among the soil types. Population sizes were projected to remain stable in all soil types for all species with one exception. Our life-table response experiment demonstrated that the population dynamics of a species differed only subtly among soil types. Therefore, species with strong density differences across soil types do not necessarily differ greatly in their population dynamics across the soil types. In contrast, interspecific differences in population dynamics were large. The trade-off between mortality and growth led to a negative correlation between the contributions of mortality and growth to variations in the population growth rate (λ) and thus reduced their net contributions. Recruitment had little impact on the variation in λ. The combination of these factors resulted in little variation in λ among species.
    Matched MeSH terms: Population Dynamics
  9. Ewers RM, Boyle MJ, Gleave RA, Plowman NS, Benedick S, Bernard H, et al.
    Nat Commun, 2015 Apr 13;6:6836.
    PMID: 25865801 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms7836
    Invertebrates are dominant species in primary tropical rainforests, where their abundance and diversity contributes to the functioning and resilience of these globally important ecosystems. However, more than one-third of tropical forests have been logged, with dramatic impacts on rainforest biodiversity that may disrupt key ecosystem processes. We find that the contribution of invertebrates to three ecosystem processes operating at three trophic levels (litter decomposition, seed predation and removal, and invertebrate predation) is reduced by up to one-half following logging. These changes are associated with decreased abundance of key functional groups of termites, ants, beetles and earthworms, and an increase in the abundance of small mammals, amphibians and insectivorous birds in logged relative to primary forest. Our results suggest that ecosystem processes themselves have considerable resilience to logging, but the consistent decline of invertebrate functional importance is indicative of a human-induced shift in how these ecological processes operate in tropical rainforests.
    Matched MeSH terms: Population Dynamics
  10. Abbott A, Cyranoski D, Masood E
    Nature, 2006 Nov 2;444(7115):20-1.
    PMID: 17080056
    Matched MeSH terms: Population Dynamics
  11. Malaspinas AS, Westaway MC, Muller C, Sousa VC, Lao O, Alves I, et al.
    Nature, 2016 Oct 13;538(7624):207-214.
    PMID: 27654914 DOI: 10.1038/nature18299
    The population history of Aboriginal Australians remains largely uncharacterized. Here we generate high-coverage genomes for 83 Aboriginal Australians (speakers of Pama-Nyungan languages) and 25 Papuans from the New Guinea Highlands. We find that Papuan and Aboriginal Australian ancestors diversified 25-40 thousand years ago (kya), suggesting pre-Holocene population structure in the ancient continent of Sahul (Australia, New Guinea and Tasmania). However, all of the studied Aboriginal Australians descend from a single founding population that differentiated ~10-32 kya. We infer a population expansion in northeast Australia during the Holocene epoch (past 10,000 years) associated with limited gene flow from this region to the rest of Australia, consistent with the spread of the Pama-Nyungan languages. We estimate that Aboriginal Australians and Papuans diverged from Eurasians 51-72 kya, following a single out-of-Africa dispersal, and subsequently admixed with archaic populations. Finally, we report evidence of selection in Aboriginal Australians potentially associated with living in the desert.
    Matched MeSH terms: Population Dynamics
  12. Matsui M, Shimada T, Ota H, Tanaka-Ueno T
    Mol Phylogenet Evol, 2005 Dec;37(3):733-42.
    PMID: 15964212
    The genus Rana, notably diversified in Oriental regions from China to Southeast Asia, includes a group of cascade frogs assigned to subgenera Odorrana and Eburana. Among them, R. ishikawae and the R. narina complex represent the northernmost members occurring from Taiwan to the Ryukyu Archipelago of Japan. Relationships of these frogs with the continental members, as well as the history of their invasions to islands, have been unclear. The taxonomic status of Odorrana and related genera varies among authors and no phylogenetic reassessment has been done. Using partial sequences of mitochondrial 12S and 16S rRNA genes, we estimated phylogenetic relationships among 17 species of the section Hylarana including Odorrana and Eburana, and related species from the Ryukyus, Taiwan, China, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia. We estimate that (1) Odorrana is monophyletic and encompasses species of Eburana and R. hosii, which is now placed in Chalcorana, (2) the ancestor of R. ishikawae separated from other Rana in the middle to late Miocene prior to its entry to the Ryukyu Archipelago, (3) the ancestor of the R. narina complex later diversified in continental Asia, and invaded the Ryukyu Archipelago through Taiwan, (4) the R. narina complex attained its current distribution within the Ryukyus through niche segregations, and (5) vicariance of R. hosii between Malay Peninsula and Borneo occurred much later than the divergence events in the R. narina complex. Current subgeneric classification of Rana, at least of Southeast Asian members, requires full reassessment in the light of phylogenetic relationships.
    Matched MeSH terms: Population Dynamics
  13. Drescher J, Blüthgen N, Feldhaar H
    Mol Ecol, 2007 Apr;16(7):1453-65.
    PMID: 17391269
    Invasive species are one of the main sources of the ongoing global loss of biodiversity. Invasive ants are known as particularly damaging invaders and their introductions are often accompanied by population-level behavioural and genetic changes that may contribute to their success. Anoplolepis gracilipes is an invasive ant that has just recently received increased attention due to its negative impact on native ecosystems. We examined the behaviour and population structure of A. gracilipes in Sabah, Malaysia. A total of 475 individuals from 24 colonies were genotyped with eight microsatellite markers. Intracolonial relatedness was high, ranging from 0.37 to 1 (mean +/- SD: 0.82 +/- 0.04), while intercolonial relatedness was low (0.0 +/- 0.02, range -0.5-0.76). We compared five distinct sampling regions in Sabah and Brunei. A three-level hierarchical F-analysis revealed high genetic differentiation among colonies within the same region, but low genetic differentiation within colonies or across regions. Overall levels of heterozygosity were unusually high (mean H(O) = 0.95, mean H(E) = 0.71) with two loci being entirely heterozygous, indicating an unusual reproductive system in this species. Bioassays revealed a negative correlation between relatedness and aggression, suggesting kinship as one factor facilitating supercolony formation in this species. Furthermore, we genotyped one individual per nest from Sabah (22 nests), Sarawak (one nest), Brunei (three nests) and the Philippines (two nests) using two mitochondrial DNA markers. We found six haplotypes, two of which included 82.1% of all sequences. Our study shows that the sampled area in Sabah consists of a mosaic of differently interrelated nests in different stages of colony establishment. While some of the sampled colonies may belong to large supercolonies, others are more likely to represent recently introduced or dispersed propagules that are just beginning to expand.
    Matched MeSH terms: Population Dynamics
  14. Endersby NM, McKechnie SW, Ridland PM, Weeks AR
    Mol Ecol, 2006 Jan;15(1):107-18.
    PMID: 16367834
    The diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella, is renowned for developing resistance to insecticides and causing significant economic damage to Brassica vegetable crops throughout the world. Yet despite its economic importance, little is known about the population structure and movement patterns of this pest both at local and regional scales. In Australia, the movement patterns and insecticide resistance status of P. xylostella infesting canola, vegetables, forage brassicas and weeds have fundamental implications for the management of this pest. Here we use six polymorphic microsatellite loci to investigate population structure and gene flow in Australian populations of P. xylostella. Samples of P. xylostella from New Zealand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Kenya were also scored at these loci. We found no evidence of population structure within Australia, with most populations having low inbreeding coefficients and in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. In addition, a sample from the North Island of New Zealand was indistinguishable from the Australian samples. However, large genetic differences were found between the Australia/New Zealand samples and samples from Kenya, Malaysia and Indonesia. There was no relationship between genetic distance and geographic distance among Australian and New Zealand samples. Two of the loci were found to have null alleles, the frequency of which was increased in the populations outside the Australia/New Zealand region. We discuss these results with reference to insecticide resistance management strategies for P. xylostella in Australia.
    Matched MeSH terms: Population Dynamics
  15. Campbell P, Schneider CJ, Adnan AM, Zubaid A, Kunz TH
    Mol Ecol, 2006 Jan;15(1):29-47.
    PMID: 16367828
    The extent to which response to environmental change is mediated by species-specific ecology is an important aspect of the population histories of tropical taxa. During the Pleistocene glacial cycles and associated sea level fluctuations, the Sunda region in Southeast Asia experienced concurrent changes in landmass area and the ratio of forest to open habitat, providing an ideal setting to test the expectation that habitat associations played an important role in determining species' response to the opportunity for geographic expansion. We used mitochondrial control region sequences and six microsatellite loci to compare the phylogeographic structure and demographic histories of four broadly sympatric species of Old World fruit bats in the genus, Cynopterus. Two forest-associated species and two open-habitat generalists were sampled along a latitudinal transect in Singapore, peninsular Malaysia, and southern Thailand. Contrary to expectations based on habitat associations, the geographic scale of population structure was not concordant across ecologically similar species. We found evidence for long and relatively stable demographic history in one forest and one open-habitat species, and inferred non-coincident demographic expansions in the second forest and open-habitat species. Thus, while these results indicate that Pleistocene climate change did not have a single effect on population structure across species, a correlation between habitat association and response to environmental change was supported in only two of four species. We conclude that interactions between multiple factors, including historical and contemporary environmental change, species-specific ecology and interspecific interactions, have shaped the recent evolutionary histories of Cynopterus fruit bats in Southeast Asia.
    Matched MeSH terms: Population Dynamics
  16. Goossens B, Chikhi L, Jalil MF, Ancrenaz M, Lackman-Ancrenaz I, Mohamed M, et al.
    Mol Ecol, 2005 Feb;14(2):441-56.
    PMID: 15660936
    We investigated the genetic structure within and among Bornean orang-utans (Pongo pygmaeus) in forest fragments of the Lower Kinabatangan flood plain in Sabah, Malaysia. DNA was extracted from hair and faecal samples for 200 wild individuals collected during boat surveys on the Kinabatangan River. Fourteen microsatellite loci were used to characterize patterns of genetic diversity. We found that genetic diversity was high in the set of samples (mean H(E) = 0.74) and that genetic differentiation was significant between the samples (average F(ST) = 0.04, P < 0.001) with F(ST) values ranging from low (0.01) to moderately large (0.12) values. Pairwise F(ST) values were significantly higher across the Kinabatangan River than between samples from the same river side, thereby confirming the role of the river as a natural barrier to gene flow. The correlation between genetic and geographical distance was tested by means of a series of Mantel tests based on different measures of geographical distance. We used a Bayesian method to estimate immigration rates. The results indicate that migration is unlikely across the river but cannot be completely ruled out because of the limited F(ST) values. Assignment tests confirm the overall picture that gene flow is limited across the river. We found that migration between samples from the same side of the river had a high probability indicating that orang-utans used to move relatively freely between neighbouring areas. This strongly suggests that there is a need to maintain migration between isolated forest fragments. This could be done by restoring forest corridors alongside the river banks and between patches.
    Matched MeSH terms: Population Dynamics
  17. Baharum SN, Nurdalila AA
    Mol Biol Rep, 2012 May;39(5):5225-32.
    PMID: 22167328 DOI: 10.1007/s11033-011-1320-2
    The most economically important form of aquaculture is fish farming, which is an industry that accounts for an ever increasing share of world fishery production. Molecular markers can be used to enhance the productivity of the aquaculture and fish industries to meet the increasing demand. Molecular markers can be identified via a DNA test regardless of the developmental stage, age or environmental challenges experienced by the organism. The application of 16s and cytochrome b markers has enabled rapid progress in investigations of genetic variability and inbreeding, parentage assignments, species and strain identification and the construction of high resolution genetic linkage maps for aquaculture fisheries. In this review, the advantages of principles and potential power tools of 16s and cytochrome b markers are discussed. Main findings in term of trend, aspects and debates on the reviewed issue made from the model of aquatic species for the benefit of aquaculture genomics and aquaculture genetics research are discussed. The concepts in this review are illustrated with various research examples and results that relate theory to reality and provide a strong review of the current status of these biotechnology topics.
    Matched MeSH terms: Population Dynamics
  18. Garg KM, Chattopadhyay B, Cros E, Tomassi S, Benedick S, Edwards DP, et al.
    Mol Biol Evol, 2022 Jan 07;39(1).
    PMID: 34893875 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msab340
    Island biogeography is one of the most powerful subdisciplines of ecology: its mathematical predictions that island size and distance to mainland determine diversity have withstood the test of time. A key question is whether these predictions follow at a population-genomic level. Using rigorous ancient-DNA protocols, we retrieved approximately 1,000 genomic markers from approximately 100 historic specimens of two Southeast Asian songbird complexes from across the Sunda Shelf archipelago collected 1893-1957. We show that the genetic affinities of populations on small shelf islands defy the predictions of geographic distance and appear governed by Earth-historic factors including the position of terrestrial barriers (paleo-rivers) and persistence of corridors (Quaternary land bridges). Our analyses suggest that classic island-biogeographic predictors may not hold well for population-genomic dynamics on the thousands of shelf islands across the globe, which are exposed to dynamic changes in land distribution during Quaternary climate change.
    Matched MeSH terms: Population Dynamics
  19. Arciero E, Kraaijenbrink T, Asan, Haber M, Mezzavilla M, Ayub Q, et al.
    Mol Biol Evol, 2018 Aug 01;35(8):1916-1933.
    PMID: 29796643 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msy094
    We genotyped 738 individuals belonging to 49 populations from Nepal, Bhutan, North India, or Tibet at over 500,000 SNPs, and analyzed the genotypes in the context of available worldwide population data in order to investigate the demographic history of the region and the genetic adaptations to the harsh environment. The Himalayan populations resembled other South and East Asians, but in addition displayed their own specific ancestral component and showed strong population structure and genetic drift. We also found evidence for multiple admixture events involving Himalayan populations and South/East Asians between 200 and 2,000 years ago. In comparisons with available ancient genomes, the Himalayans, like other East and South Asian populations, showed similar genetic affinity to Eurasian hunter-gatherers (a 24,000-year-old Upper Palaeolithic Siberian), and the related Bronze Age Yamnaya. The high-altitude Himalayan populations all shared a specific ancestral component, suggesting that genetic adaptation to life at high altitude originated only once in this region and subsequently spread. Combining four approaches to identifying specific positively selected loci, we confirmed that the strongest signals of high-altitude adaptation were located near the Endothelial PAS domain-containing protein 1 and Egl-9 Family Hypoxia Inducible Factor 1 loci, and discovered eight additional robust signals of high-altitude adaptation, five of which have strong biological functional links to such adaptation. In conclusion, the demographic history of Himalayan populations is complex, with strong local differentiation, reflecting both genetic and cultural factors; these populations also display evidence of multiple genetic adaptations to high-altitude environments.
    Matched MeSH terms: Population Dynamics
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