Genetic evidence for a Pleistocene population explosion

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Publication Type Journal Article
School or College College of Social & Behavioral Science
Department Anthropology
Creator Rogers, Alan R.
Other Author Expansion; Distribution; Equilibrium
Title Genetic evidence for a Pleistocene population explosion
Date 1995
Description Expansions of population size leave characteristic signatures in mitochondrial "mismatch distributions." Consequently, these distributions can inform us about the history of changes in population size. Here, I study a simple model of population history that assumes that, t generations before the present, a population grows (or shrinks) suddenly from female size N0 to female size N1. Although this model is simple, it often provides an accurate description of data generated by complex population histories. I develop statistical methods that estimate 0O = 2uN0, 01 = 2uN1, and T = 2ut (where u is the mutation rate), and place a confidence region around these estimates. These estimators are well behaved, and insensitive to simplifying assumptions. Finally, I apply these methods to published mitochondrial data, and infer that a major expansion of the human population occurred during the late Pleistocene.
Type Text
Publisher Society for the Study of Evolution
Volume 49
Issue 4
First Page 608
Last Page 615
Language eng
Bibliographic Citation Rogers, A. R. (1995). Genetic evidence for a Pleistocene population explosion. Evolution, 49(4), 608-15.
Rights Management (c) Society for the Study of Evolution
Format Medium application/pdf
Format Extent 857,760 bytes
Identifier ir-main,1257
ARK ark:/87278/s6jm2v7x
Setname ir_uspace
ID 706530
Reference URL https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6jm2v7x