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Isolation by distance, linguistic similarity, and the genetic structure on Bougainville Island
Author(s) -
Relethford John H.
Publication year - 1985
Publication title -
american journal of physical anthropology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.146
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1096-8644
pISSN - 0002-9483
DOI - 10.1002/ajpa.1330660309
Subject(s) - kinship , isolation by distance , variation (astronomy) , geographical distance , similarity (geometry) , genetic distance , population , genetic variation , genetic similarity , geography , statistics , isolation (microbiology) , genetic structure , demography , evolutionary biology , biology , mathematics , sociology , anthropology , genetic diversity , computer science , bioinformatics , physics , artificial intelligence , astrophysics , image (mathematics)
Previous research has revealed extensive genetic variation among villages on Bougainville, in the Solomon Islands. Using previously published gene frequency data for seven loci, the role of isolation by distance in structuring genetic variation on Bougainville was reanalyzed. Newer methods of kinship estimation show that earlier estimates of the isolation by distance parameters were low. The fit of the model is highly significant (R 2 = 0.409; P < 0.001), and the parameter estimates indicate high isolation: a = 0.0538, b = 0.1978, L = −0.0057. Several methods of residual analysis were applied in order to determine factors affecting the fit of the model. Linguistic similarity has a significant effect on genetic variation once the effects of geographic distance are taken into account. Population‐specific deviations from the expected model may be explained, in part, in terms of population history. Compared to other human populations, Bougainville Island shows an even greater among‐group variation than has been suggested previously.