Mountain Pygmies of Western New Guinea: A Morphological and Molecular Approach

The presence of pygmy or pygmoid groups among New Guinea populations has been the object of scientific interest since the end of the nineteenth century. Morphological and molecular data are used here to study western New Guinea population variability, focusing in particular on two pygmoid groups living in the eastern fringe highlands of Papua: the Una and the Ketengban. Various kinds of anthropometric data are examined, as well as height, weight, and body mass index, to carry out comparisons with nearby ethnic groups living in the highland and lowland regions. The Ketengban data were also compared with other data recorded 20 years before. The results of previous research on the sequencing of the mitochondrial DNA hypervariable segment 1 region and nuclear DNA nonrecombining Y-chromosome polymorphisms are presented. Both morphological and molecular studies involve adult subjects of both genders, representative of the same ethnic groups and/ or geographic regions. The pygmoid groups turn out to be significantly different from all other study groups, due to their small size, as confirmed by analysis of variance, although significant height and weight increments are observed with respect to those previously recorded. However, putative neutral genetic variation estimated from mitochondrial DNA and Y-chromosome markers support a recent shared common history between these pygmoid populations and the other central Papua groups (except for the Dani-Lani). These findings suggest that the short-stature phenotype is an independent secondary adaptation, possibly driven by an iodine-deficient environment, which leaves the potential for further investigations

Lessons from Traditional Foraging Patterns in West Papua (Indonesia)

Insects and terrestrial invertebrates are presumed to have consistently contributed to the diet of our ancestors and it is estimated that nearly 2,000 insects still contribute worldwide to human nutrition. As elsewhere in the tropical world, insects are a part of the diet of West Papua (ex-Irian Jaya) populations. The distribution of insect food consumption on the western half of the island of New Guinea follows different patterns, depending on the environment and population subsistence economy. In the forest biome of the peripheral montane areas, many different insect species are collected but in small numbers, mainly by women and children. Insect collection occurs by chance, but is frequent, and possibly helps those most vulnerable to food shortages to complement their diet with some extra protein and fat. In the western lowlands, a complex cultural system is centered around the traditional staple: sago (Metroxylon sagu and M. rumphii). The pith of this palm, which grows spontaneously in the swampy forest plains, contains a high amount of starch and is easily gathered by the local people. The beetle Rhynchophorus ferrugineus papuanus is strictly associated with the sago palm and oviposits especially on damaged or felled trees. Villagers so manage the sago palms to increase palm-worm oviposition and to collect a consistent number of larvae about 6 weeks later. This ancient sago culture, favored by an abundant and reliable resource, has developed a rich ceremonial life connected with sago larvae consumption. Ecological, economic, and cultural factors influencing the variety of insect consumption modalities are taken into account here. The development of local, small-scale invertebrate breeding systems can contribute to the development of sustainable, renewable resources, and protect tropical forests from degradation

Accrescimento e composizione corporea di adolescenti baresi

The increase in chronic diseases related to obesity has recently reached a level considered epidemic by the World Health Organization. The phenomenon is all the more serious because, by also affecting children and adolescents, it is responsible for the progressive deterioration of the health of future generations. This study was undertaken to monitor early risk factors for obesity and to contribute to updating regional and nation-wide anthropometric data. Five hundred and three subjects (190 boys, 313 girls) aged between 14 and 18 attending the "Socrate" secondary school in Bari (Italy) were examined. Standard anthropometric variables, impedentiometric measurements, and nutritional and behavioral data related to sports activities were recorded. Subjects' body composition fell within normal Italian and international ranges for almost all parameters, except height, which was higher than the Italian average. With respect to standard BMI values, although some boys and girls were underweight, 14.1% and 10.2% respectively were overweight and 2.6% and 0.3% obese. A decrease in average age at menarche (11.7 years) was also recorded. Lifestyle analysis revealed frequent sports activities (70%), but sedentary use of leisure time

Evolutionary history of the genus Sus inferred from cytochrome b sequences.

The systematic status of species belonging to the genus Sus has been a matter of debate for decades (Groves, 1981). According to a recent review of its taxonomy, there are a total of 7 living species (Sus scrofa, Sus salvanius, Sus barbatus, Sus verrucosus, Sus celebensis, Sus philippensis, Sus cebifrons) and approximately 22 subspecies (Groves and Grubb, 1993), to which one recently recognized species, Sus bucculentus (Groves et al., 1997) and many new subspecies (Groves, 1997) should be added. South-East Asia (SEA) may be considered the homeland of the genus, as 6 out of the 8 species are endemic to the area, the only exception being the pygmy hog (S. salvanius), nowadays present only in the north of India, and S. scrofa, which is distributed worldwide (and not limited to SEA). In particular, the relationship between SEA species was investigated, but the evidence presented until now is still not conclusive. Morphological analyses point toward the identification of two main lineages, one leading to scrofa/celebensis/philippensis and the other to barbatus/verrucosus (Groves, 1997), but molecular evidence does not support the same grouping, but merges scrofa, barbatus and verrucosus (Lucchini et al., 2005). Recent findings have further complicated this issue rather than solving it, highlighting a substantial level of polyphyly among some of these species (see Larson et al., 2005). There is also great uncertainty about the temporal scale of Sus evolution, mainly because of a general lack of representative fossil records. For example, the origin of the genus probably dates back to near the Miocene/Pliocene boundary, around 5 Mya1 (Randi et al., 1996), but its divergence from its closest genus, Phacochoerus, based only on molecular data, ranges from 5 to 15 Mya (Randi et al., 1996). This great uncertainty also characterizes estimates about the separation between European and Asian lineages of S. scrofa, spanning from 56,000 (Kim et al., 2002) to 500,000 years (Giuffra et al., 2000), depending on the marker and mutation rate used. The major aim of the present study was to provide a more comprehensive description of the timing of evolution of the genus Sus and of the phylogenetic relationships among its various species. We thus sequenced mitochondrial cytochrome b from some specimens belonging to S. scrofa, S. celebensis and S. barbatus. This gene was selected as it was the most represented marker available for Sus in the GenBank. We further tested the performance of the cytochrome b as a molecular barcode, in order to check its ability to recognize potential hybrid populations such as that inhabiting New Guinea, proposed to be a cross between S. celebensis and S. Scrofa (Groves, 1981; but see Larson et al., 2005, for a different opinion)

Composizione corporea e stile di vita di studenti universitari pugliesi

A survey of the physical structure and nutritional status of students following Sciences courses at the University of Bari (Italy) is reported in this study. A total of 514 students (253 males, 261 females) aged between 18 and 34 were examined. Standard anthropometric variables (weight, height, sitting height, biacromial and bicrystal diameters, waist circumference, skin folds) were recorded. Impedentiometric data were also collected (body fat and body water percentages, visceral fat index, muscle and bone mass, basal metabolic rate, metabolic age), together with nutritional and behavioral data, with particular attention to lifestyle. When height and weight data were compared with those reported in previous regional and nation-wide studies, an increase in height and a reduction in weight were found in this generation of young people. With respect to standard BMI values, our sample fell within normal values, partly due to frequent sports activities, at least among the men (73%). Principal Component Analysis applied to both anthropometric and impedentiometric data showed not only a clear-cut division between genders, but also major differences in metabolic data