The genetic ancestry of american creole cattle inferred from uniparental and autosomal genetic markers.

Cattle imported from the Iberian Peninsula spread throughout America in the early years of discovery and colonization to originate Creole breeds, which adapted to a wide diversity of environments and later received influences from other origins, including zebu cattle in more recent years. We analyzed uniparental genetic markers and autosomal microsatellites in DNA samples from 114 cattle breeds distributed worldwide, including 40 Creole breeds representing the whole American continent, and samples from the Iberian Peninsula, British islands, Continental Europe, Africa and American zebu. We show that Creole breeds differ considerably from each other, and most have their own identity or group with others from neighboring regions. Results with mtDNA indicate that T1c-lineages are rare in Iberia but common in Africa and are well represented in Creoles from Brazil and Colombia, lending support to a direct African influence on Creoles. This is reinforced by the sharing of a unique Y-haplotype between cattle from Mozambique and Creoles from Argentina. Autosomal microsatellites indicate that Creoles occupy an intermediate position between African and European breeds, and some Creoles show a clear Iberian signature. Our results confirm the mixed ancestry of American Creole cattle and the role that African cattle have played in their development

The Socio-Economic Contributions of Marine Protected Areas to the Fisherfolk

ABSTRACT: The continuous degradation of the marine ecosystem leads to the establishment of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) as a protective measure. Because of the wide array of benefits that can be gained upon its establishment, socio-economic contributions were taken into consideration using a descriptive survey method of research among the seven MPAs in Lingayen Gulf. Data revealed that members of the fisherfolk organization is dominated by married males, 30-50 years old, high school graduate, with 0-1 child, earns less than 5,000 pesos a month and fishing as the major source of livelihood. They participate "Moderately" in the management but scored "High" on linkaging/networking with other agencies. MPAs contributed "High" on social aspect despite a moderate contribution in recreation. A "Moderate" and "High" contributions were observed for economic and political aspect respectively. Among the socio-demographic profile, only the number of children is significantly correlated with the extent of participation in management but not with linking with other agencies. It is further revealed that participation is a good predictor of socio-economic contributions. No significant relationship was found between the socio-demographic profile and the socioeconomic contributions. Linking/networking with other agencies is also found to be not significantly correlated with the any socio-demographic profile