Using Matched Craniometric and Genetic Data to Assess the Population Structure of Texas-Mexico Border Migrants

Human population structure studies suggest that craniometric and genetic data demonstrate similar genetic distances within and between populations. However, few studies use craniometric and genetic data from the same individuals to conduct comparative analyses. Therefore, it is necessary to assess whether distance analysis methods deliver significant results when comparing craniometric and genetic data obtained from the same individuals. Using interlandmark distances (ILD) and short tandem repeats (STR) obtained from a sample of 32 Texas-Mexico migrants, this study investigates the within and between population variation of this unique data set. Genetic distances, Procrustes plots, and Mantel tests were conducted to assess the correlation between ILD and STR data. Interindividual results suggest no significant correlation between ILD and STR data (r = -0.01, p = 0.83). Between population results demonstrate a moderate correlation between ILD and STR samples, but the relationship between distance matrices is not statistically significant (r = 0.317, p = 0.239). The results are discussed in the context of Texas-Mexico migrant population structure and the fit of matched ILD and STR data. This research is integral for not only understanding relationships within the given sample, but also for understanding the relationship between the craniometric and genetic data that biological anthropologists frequently utilize.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts

Level thesis:degree_level

Masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Anthropology

Grantor

Texas State University

Year dc:date.issued

2018

Author dc:creator

• New, Briana

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Spradley, M. Kate

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Herrmann, Nicholas P.
• Fehren-Schmitz, Lars

• human population structure
• short tandem repeats
• interlandmark distances
• migrants

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/10877/10891

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:digital.library.txst.edu:10877/10891