Rat DNA gives clues to human migration patterns in Polynesia

[NNadir]

Trying to distract myself from the funeral of Stalin, whoops, I mean Reagan, as reported by Isvestia, whoops I mean CNN, I came across this little tidbit:

"Rat DNA clues to sea migration


This carving shows Pacific rats on the face of a Polynesian ancestor
Scientists have used DNA from rats to trace migration patterns of the ancestors of today's Polynesians.
People are thought to have arrived in Polynesia, comprising the Pacific islands of Fiji, Tonga and Samoa, by boat some 3,000 years ago.

Rat data suggests the journey was more complex than the popular "Express Train" theory, which proposes a rapid dispersal of people from South Asia.

Details appear in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Elizabeth Matisoo-Smith and Judith Robins from the University of Auckland, New Zealand, analysed variation in the DNA of the Pacific rat (Rattus exulans)..."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3784759.stm

[hatrack]

1. Very cool! I'm reading the Easter Island book by Flenley & Bahn

It's a compilation of research on Rapa Nui and its rise and fall.

Absolutely fascinating with a lot of recent archaeological data on midden heap data and pollen samples, which has allowed them to do a great job of rebuilding the island's history.

[treepig]

2. In a related vein (or is that vane?), mouse evolution

has also been directed by human activity . . .

Urban planners for rodents take note: In big cities, small citizens can get squeezed out. This may come as no surprise -- urban sprawl deals a heavy blow to native wildlife.
But sometimes, as any pigeon watcher knows, a species can thrive amid the flurry of human activity. When cities grow, some animals take over where others, who can't adapt in time, move out. Lucky for one Midwestern mouse, it doesn't always take eons to evolve.

Just ask Oliver Pergams. As the University of Illinois biologist (with co-authors Dennis Nyberg and Wayne Barnes) reported in a recent issue of the journal Nature, a remarkable show of natural selection has played out among the white-footed mice of Chicago - in just 150 years. It's very rare to see evolutionary change among mammals in such a short timespan. And, no surprise here, the impetus was probably people

more . . .

http://whyfiles.org/shorties/131mouse_evolution/