The Caribbean Taino Have Modern Descendants

Origins and genetic legacies of the Caribbean Taino

Authors:

Schroeder et al

Abstract:

The Caribbean was one of the last parts of the Americas to be settled by humans, but how and when the islands were first occupied remains a matter of debate. Ancient DNA can help answering these questions, but the work has been hampered by poor DNA preservation. We report the genome sequence of a 1,000-year-old Lucayan Taino individual recovered from the site of Preacher’s Cave in the Bahamas. We sequenced her genome to 12.4-fold coverage and show that she is genetically most closely related to present-day Arawakan speakers from northern South America, suggesting that the ancestors of the Lucayans originated there. Further, we find no evidence for recent inbreeding or isolation in the ancient genome, suggesting that the Lucayans had a relatively large effective population size. Finally, we show that the native American components in some present-day Caribbean genomes are closely related to the ancient Taino, demonstrating an element of continuity between precontact populations and present-day Latino populations in the Caribbean.

John Hawks comments on the Science article about the above.

The Sahara Fertilizes & Poisons the Caribbean

Dust from the Saharan desert is bringing needed iron and other nutrients to underwater plants in the Caribbean, but bacteria may be the first thing to prosper from that dust.

The dust is causing the bacteria to bloom and also become more toxic to humans and marine organisms.

"This has been going on for a long time, but nobody understood it," said Florida State University Professor of Chemical Oceanography William Landing, a co-author on a new paper outlining the effect of the dust. "It's a natural phenomenon."

The new research was published in the May 9 edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

link.

Evidence of Invasive Species Introduced by Native Americans to the West Indies

Sr and Pb isotopic investigation of mammal introductions: Pre-Columbian zoogeographic records from the Lesser Antilles, West Indies

Authors:

Giovas et al

Abstract:

Recent efforts to reconstruct the anthropogenic paleozoogeography of introduced Neotropical mammals in the West Indies provide new analytical foundations for evaluating island and continental human interaction, exchange, colonization, and animal management. Key questions in these investigations concern the timing, source, population viability, and environmental impact of continental faunal translocations in the pre-Columbian insular Caribbean. To investigate these issues we analyzed 87Sr/86Sr, 206Pb/204Pb, 207Pb/204Pb, and 208Pb/204Pb isotope ratios from environmental samples and agouti (Dasyprocta sp.) and opossum (Didelphis cf. marsupialis) remains from Ceramic Age (500 BC – AD 1500) archaeological deposits on the islands of Nevis, Carriacou, and Mustique in the Lesser Antilles. This study was undertaken to assess the suitability of agouti and opossum tooth enamel for isotopic analysis, characterize local bioavailable Sr and Pb isotope ratios, and distinguish possible local and non-local agouti and opossum individuals. We demonstrate large intra-island variability in bioavailable Sr across multiple islands giving rise to potential equifinality in identifying taxa of non-local origin. We argue, consequently, for the necessity of comprehensive environmental sampling at the island scale to better define the range and mean of bioavailable Sr for a given locale. Our results further show that Pb isotope analysis of sampled taxa is problematized to varying degrees by modern anthropogenic lead contamination, even for well-preserved ‘clean’ tooth enamel from intact archaeological specimens and raise questions about the utility of this method for evaluating past animal translocations and the use of small mammals for establishing local bioavailable Pb. Despite these results, Sr data are sound and, in combination with vetted Pb ratios, indicate that agouti and opossum were established as living populations on Carriacou and Nevis as early as ca. AD 600/800, and possibly earlier. These results establish baseline data for evaluating exchange networks involving living animals or their parts, potential captive management of agouti and opossum, and the ecological impact of exotic species during the Pre-Columbian era in the West Indies.

St James Point Resort, Cayman Islands

link.

Humans Drove Caribbean Island Bats to Extinction

Sharing caves with millions of bats, the Caribbean's first humans may have driven some species of the winged mammals to extinction.

The new study appearing online today in Scientific Reports rejects previous research that directly connected climate change and the loss of land with the disappearance of bat populations.

Knowing when and how Caribbean bats went extinct could contribute to better understanding biodiversity and how to save modern-day wildlife from meeting the same fate, said co-author David Steadman, a University of Florida ornithologist.

"Ours are the first radiocarbon dates for bat fossils in the whole West Indies," said Steadman, curator of ornithology at the Florida Museum of Natural History on the UF campus. "The new dates prove that certain bat populations were still in existence much later than previously thought—around the same time humans arrived."

The new dates demonstrate that at least five species of bats withstood this climate change and reduced land area, only to be wiped out at a time when climate conditions were largely similar to those of today, said lead author J. Angel Soto-Centeno, a post-doctoral researcher at the American Museum of Natural History who began the research as a doctoral student studying mammalogy at the Florida Museum.

"Prehistoric and modern humans have had considerable impacts on island species and ecosystems, including the early Amerindians who settled in the Bahamas and altered the natural fire regimes on a large scale," Soto-Centeno said. "We found that the demise of bat populations in the Bahamas coincides with similar land mammal, reptile and bird losses on other Caribbean islands."

link.

Could Ebola Reaching Central America or Caribbean Trigger a Mass Emigration?

The head of U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) warned an Ebola outbreak in Central America or the Caribbean could trigger a mass migration to the U.S. of people fleeing the disease and implied established Central American illegal trafficking networks could introduce the infected into the U.S., during remarks at a Tuesday panel on security issue in the Western Hemisphere at the National Defense University.

“If it comes to the Western Hemisphere, the countries that we’re talking about have almost no ability to deal with it — particularly in Haiti and Central America,” SOUTHCOM Commander, Marine Gen. John F. Kelly, said in response to a question of his near term concerns in the region.
“It will make the 68,000 unaccompanied minors look like a small problem.”

An Ebola outbreak could encourage the poor and increasingly desperate populations in Central American countries — like Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador — to leave in droves.

link.

A Sebecid Crocodyliform From Miocene Neogene Cuba?

Enigmatic crocodyliforms from the early Miocene of Cuba

Authors:

Brochu et al

Abstract:

Early Miocene deposits from the Domo de Zaza locality, in the south-central Cuban province of Sancti Spiritus, preserve crocodyliform remains, including compressed serrated teeth closely resembling those of South American sebecids. Fragmentary cranial and mandibular material is more difficult to assess. Referral to any other post-Paleogene crocodyliform known from the Western Hemisphere can be ruled out, and phylogenetic analyses are unable to pinpoint its relationships. Similarities can be found with planocraniids, including ventrally oriented and mediolaterally expanded orbital surfaces, but the morphology of the quadrate is inconsistent with a planocraniid affinity. A sebecid in the Miocene of Cuba would be congruent with evidence from other vertebrates suggesting extensive dispersal between the Greater Antilles and South America during the Neogene, and it would be the first Neogene record of the group outside South America. The other crocodyliform may indicate the presence of an endemic West Indian lineage not closely related to any contemporaneous group. It is also consistent with extant Crocodylus arriving in the Neotropics within the past 5–10 million years.

The Lake That Burned Down A Forest (Part 2)

Antillothrix bernensis Fossil Found via Scuba Diving

Scientists have examined fossilised remains of a tiny, extinct monkey that were retrieved from an underwater cave in the Dominican Republic.

The researchers believe the fossil to be around 3,000 years old, but say the species itself could be very ancient.

This reveals clues about the origin of primates in the region.

It also suggests that many ecologically valuable treasures could be discovered by the unusual field of "underwater palaeontology".

Dr Alfred Rosenberger from Brooklyn College in New York, US, led the examination of the creature's bones, the results of which were published in the Royal Society journal Proceedings B.

[...]



Dr Rosenberger said the monkey - only the second specimen of the species Antillothrix bernensis ever found - probably measured about 30cm (12in) from head to toe.

The divers packed the fragile little skeleton into tupperware boxes

But the shape of the legs came as a surprise.

"Its femur or thigh bone was very thick. So it had sort of stout legs, which is something we didn't expect.

"We don't really have any living examples of New World monkeys that have stout legs like that."
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote

It's now possible to reconstruct what this mysterious animal looked like and how it evolved”

End Quote Dr Sam Turvey Zoological Society of London

Dr Rosenberger thinks the creature went extinct relatively recently.

He said that it may have behaved similarly to a koala - clinging to the trunks of trees, rather than leaping from branch to branch.

"That's a very rough analogy, he said.

"But there's something very interesting about the ecological niche it inhabited."

The fossil also adds to evidence that there were several lineages of primates in the Caribbean, instead of one ancestor that moved into the region millions of years ago from which all modern species evolved.

Dr Rosenberger said it was likely that several species travelled "over the water" to inhabit the island of Hispaniola.

"And even though these particular bones might be relatively young, we're pretty sure that the arrival of these animals occurred well over 10 million years ago.

"That's an exciting part of the story - if you compare the dental remains of our monkey to other fossils that we know of, we see strong similarities with Patagonian fossils that are around 15 million years old."

no time.

Caribbean Paleo Blog

All about Cenozoic vertebrate paleontology...in the caribbean! How kewl is that?