Demographic structure of the migrant groups of fishermen of Puri coast, India

1999

Am. J. Hum. Biol.

Self Cite

The relationship between fluctuating asymmetry, measured as the absolute difference between the right and left a–b ridge counts, and total a–b (R + L) ridge count was studied in an assortment of Indian population samples representing a wide spectrum of socioeconomic and occupational backgrounds. They included marine fishermen, inland and estuarine fishermen as well as migrants and their parental counterparts, tribes, and castes of different hierarchy‐ lower, middle, and upper. The samples together numbered a total of 3,239 subjects, 2,240 males and 999 females. The results failed to support Jantz and Webb's (1980) hypothesis of a quadratic relationship between fluctuating asymmetry of a–b ridge count and its phenotypic value. Only 3 of 22 samples (about 13%) showed a significant fit with a reasonable degree of consistency over a set of independent random subsamples; even initially only 7 of 22 (about 30%) samples showed a significant fit, or nearly so. Supplementary evidence drawn from these populations with reference to the relationship between fluctuating asymmetry and heterozygosity levels and inbreeding coefficients was also consistent with the interference that fluctuating asymmetry of a–b as it is measured and examined at the population level does not reflect canalization. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 11:367–381, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fluctuating asymmetry and canalization: An appraisal based on a-b ridge counts among Indian populations with diverse backgrounds

1999

Am. J. Hum. Biol.

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“…This change is difficult to explain and does not support the assumption of environmental convergence. Since the intermarriage frequency between the VP and VV is as low as 1% (Reddy, 1984), the hypothesis of gene flow from VP to VV causing such a shift can also be safely negated.…”

Section: Anthropometric Measurementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…All the marine fishermen at Puri are migrants and speak Telugu, a language spoken in the neighbouring state of Andhra Pradesh. Demographic investigations among these people (Reddy, 1984) suggest that they belong to three endogamous groups-namely, Vadabalija of Penticotta (VP), Vadabalija of Vadapeta OW), and Jalari (4, and number roughly 8,000,4,000, and 800, respectively. However, the VP and W belong to the same caste, Vadabalija, which is socially different from Jalari.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Biological affinities between the migrant groups of fishermen of Puri Coast, Orissa, India

American J Phys Anthropol

Chopra

Mukherjee

1987

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Biological affinities between the three endogamous groups of marine fishermen of Puri are examined with the help of nine anthropometric measurements and 22 dermatoglyphic traits of fingers and palms. The results are interpreted in the light of their ethnic, geographical, and migrational backgrounds. Multiple discriminant analysis and Mahalanobis's generalized distances suggest higher discrimination of populations with reference to anthropometric traits as compared to that in dermatoglyphic variables. While the nature of interpopulation distances conforms to the geographic pattern in anthropometrics, no clear picture emerges in the dermatoglyphic distances supporting either ethnic or geographic evidence.

“…A series of papers have reported findings on the population structure (Reddy, 1984) and biological affinities (Reddy et al, 1987(Reddy et al, , 1988(Reddy et al, , 1989Reddy, 1990) among three endogamous groups of migrant fishermen currently living on the Puri coast. These populations had migrated to Puri at different points of time from several coastal villages of the Ganjam district in Orissa and of the Srikakulam, Vishakhapatnam, and East Godavari districts of Andhra Pradesh, distributed along the 400 k m long coast.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These populations had migrated to Puri at different points of time from several coastal villages of the Ganjam district in Orissa and of the Srikakulam, Vishakhapatnam, and East Godavari districts of Andhra Pradesh, distributed along the 400 k m long coast. They have different caste affiliations, vary in size, and are reproductively isolated (Reddy, 1984); admixture rates are estimated to be less than 1% among them.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Genetic affinities between the migrant and parental populations of fishermen, East coast, India

Chopra

Rodewaldt

et al. 1995

American J Hum Biol

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Genetic affinities between the migrant groups of fishermen from Puri and their parental counterparts in the Southern areas were examined using 11 genetic loci: four blood groups, five red cell enzymes, and two serum proteins. The samples for the parental populations (about 430 subjects) were drawn from 34 villages spread along the 400 km coast in Ganjam district of Orissa and the contiguous Srikakulam, Vishakhapatnam, and East Godavari districts of Andhra Pradesh. Significant departures between the migrant groups and their parental counterparts were observed at some loci, although the configuration of interpopulation distances among the migrants mimicked that of the parental populations. While the observed differences may be due to a founder effect and subsequent random genetic drift in at least two of the three small populations, given high child mortality and the systematic nature of differences observed, the role of selection cannot be totally ruled out. © 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.