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Genomic and morphometric evidence for Austronesian-mediated pig translocation in the Pacific.

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Title: Genomic and morphometric evidence for Austronesian-mediated pig translocation in the Pacific.
Authors: Stanton, David W. G. (AUTHOR), Manin, Aurelie (AUTHOR), Evin, Allowen (AUTHOR), Tabbada, Kristina (AUTHOR), Linderholm, Anna (AUTHOR), Drinkwater, Rosie (AUTHOR), Thalmann, Olaf (AUTHOR), Ng'ang'a, Said I. (AUTHOR), Amano, Noel (AUTHOR), Anderson, Atholl (AUTHOR), Barnett, Ross (AUTHOR), Barrière, Patrick (AUTHOR), Bedford, Stuart (AUTHOR), Bellwood, Peter (AUTHOR), Brumm, Adam (AUTHOR), Tien, Trung Cao (AUTHOR), Clark, Geoffrey (AUTHOR), Crooijmans, Richard (AUTHOR), Cucchi, Thomas (AUTHOR), Eusebio, Michelle S. (AUTHOR)
Source: Science. 1/1/2026, Vol. 391 Issue 6780, p1-9. 9p.
Subjects: Swine, Human migrations, Islands, Animal dispersal, Morphometrics, Genetic databases, Ecological impact
Geographic Terms: Pacific Area, Sulawesi (Indonesia), Flores Island (Indonesia), Melanesia, Oceania, Polynesia, Southeast Asia, Lesser Sunda Islands, Taiwan, East Asia, Indonesia, Philippines
Abstract: Several millennia of human-mediated translocation of non-native pig species (genus Sus) to the islands of Wallacea and Oceania have considerably altered local ecosystems. To investigate the timing and trajectory of these introductions, we conducted both genomic analyses of 576 pig nuclear genomes and a geometric morphometric analysis of 708 modern and ancient dental remains. Our analyses demonstrate that free-living and domestic pigs in Wallacea and Oceania have diverse ancestries resulting from the introduction of multiple sequential pig populations followed by gene flow. Despite the variability in their genomic ancestry, these pigs all have a distinct tooth morphology as well as a genetic link to the Chinese domestic pig populations that accompanied the dispersal of Austronesian language speakers ~4000 to 3000 years ago via Taiwan and the Philippines. Editor's summary: Multiple species of pigs are endemic to Maritime Southeast Asia. Some of them exhibit a distinctive tooth shape and mitochondrial DNA haplogroups, but the history of pigs in this region is not clear. Stanton et al. collected genetic data from 117 modern, historic, and ancient individuals and examined morphometric data from over 700 modern and archeological samples. After comparing with 585 published mitochondrial genomes, the authors found that domestic pigs, which were likely introduced by Austronesian-speaking groups, contributed to most pigs found today from Hawaii to the Philippines. However, early specimens from these groups show no admixture with endemic species, mirroring the lack of mixture between these early human groups with local groups during their initial migrations. —Corinne Simonti INTRODUCTION: Humans have long moved animal species beyond their native ranges, drastically altering ecosystems, especially on islands. The translocation of vertebrates eastward across the Wallace Line into Wallacea, a biogeographic region between the Asian and Australasian biotas, has had major environmental impacts. For example, although the natural range of the genus Sus (pigs) is primarily located in Eurasia and Western Indonesia, free-living pigs are now widespread in Wallacea. RATIONALE: The human-mediated translocation of pigs east of the Wallace Line most likely began with S. celebensis, a species native to Sulawesi, in pre-Neolithic times >4000 years ago. S. scrofa (the ancestor of modern domestic pigs) populations were also likely introduced east of the Wallace Line between 4000 and 3000 years ago during the expansion of Austronesian speakers from mainland East Asia and Taiwan, through the Philippines and northern Wallacea, into Melanesia and Polynesia. The geographic origin and ancestry of these populations from Wallacea and Oceania, however, remain unknown. To establish the geographic origins of the pig populations in Wallacea, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia and the potential dispersal routes along which they traveled alongside people, we sequenced 119 Sus nuclear genomes (including 63 historical and ancient genomes) and generated geometric morphometric data (from the third lower molar) from 401 modern and 307 archaeological individuals. RESULTS: Ancestry analyses based on ancestry deconvolution, a process by which specific ancestries in admixed individuals can be identified and isolated using local ancestry inference, highlighted multiple pig-dispersal processes in Wallacea. The initial dispersal was a natural and/or human-mediated translocation of Island Southeast Asian endemic pigs from Java (S. verrucosus) into present-day Bali. The indigenous suid on Sulawesi, S. celebensis, then dispersed over water to the Lesser Sunda Islands, including Flores and Timor, potentially as a result of hunter-gatherer translocations more than 4000 years ago. More recently, domestic S. scrofa pigs from southern China and the Philippines were introduced across most islands of Wallacea and Oceania sometime after 3500 to 3000 years ago. Many of these introduced pigs later became feral on islands across the region. Finally, during the colonial period, pigs with European ancestry were introduced broadly across the region, including in the Lesser Sundas and Papua New Guinea. CONCLUSION: Our results demonstrate that non-native free-living pigs east of the Wallace Line have a complex ancestry that primarily reflects multiple intentional introductions by people. The most important of these events was the migration of Austronesian-speaking groups, ~4000 years ago, who moved from Southeast China and Taiwan via the Philippines and introduced domestic pigs across a vast geographical region from the Philippines to Hawai'i, many of which became feral. Map showing the dispersal of pigs into Wallacea, including deliberate introductions by people in Wallacea and the Pacific.: The numbers (1–4) on the arrows indicate the chronological order of these dispersal events, as per our analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Science is the property of American Association for the Advancement of Science and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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  Data: Genomic and morphometric evidence for Austronesian-mediated pig translocation in the Pacific.
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– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Several millennia of human-mediated translocation of non-native pig species (genus Sus) to the islands of Wallacea and Oceania have considerably altered local ecosystems. To investigate the timing and trajectory of these introductions, we conducted both genomic analyses of 576 pig nuclear genomes and a geometric morphometric analysis of 708 modern and ancient dental remains. Our analyses demonstrate that free-living and domestic pigs in Wallacea and Oceania have diverse ancestries resulting from the introduction of multiple sequential pig populations followed by gene flow. Despite the variability in their genomic ancestry, these pigs all have a distinct tooth morphology as well as a genetic link to the Chinese domestic pig populations that accompanied the dispersal of Austronesian language speakers ~4000 to 3000 years ago via Taiwan and the Philippines. Editor's summary: Multiple species of pigs are endemic to Maritime Southeast Asia. Some of them exhibit a distinctive tooth shape and mitochondrial DNA haplogroups, but the history of pigs in this region is not clear. Stanton et al. collected genetic data from 117 modern, historic, and ancient individuals and examined morphometric data from over 700 modern and archeological samples. After comparing with 585 published mitochondrial genomes, the authors found that domestic pigs, which were likely introduced by Austronesian-speaking groups, contributed to most pigs found today from Hawaii to the Philippines. However, early specimens from these groups show no admixture with endemic species, mirroring the lack of mixture between these early human groups with local groups during their initial migrations. —Corinne Simonti INTRODUCTION: Humans have long moved animal species beyond their native ranges, drastically altering ecosystems, especially on islands. The translocation of vertebrates eastward across the Wallace Line into Wallacea, a biogeographic region between the Asian and Australasian biotas, has had major environmental impacts. For example, although the natural range of the genus Sus (pigs) is primarily located in Eurasia and Western Indonesia, free-living pigs are now widespread in Wallacea. RATIONALE: The human-mediated translocation of pigs east of the Wallace Line most likely began with S. celebensis, a species native to Sulawesi, in pre-Neolithic times >4000 years ago. S. scrofa (the ancestor of modern domestic pigs) populations were also likely introduced east of the Wallace Line between 4000 and 3000 years ago during the expansion of Austronesian speakers from mainland East Asia and Taiwan, through the Philippines and northern Wallacea, into Melanesia and Polynesia. The geographic origin and ancestry of these populations from Wallacea and Oceania, however, remain unknown. To establish the geographic origins of the pig populations in Wallacea, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia and the potential dispersal routes along which they traveled alongside people, we sequenced 119 Sus nuclear genomes (including 63 historical and ancient genomes) and generated geometric morphometric data (from the third lower molar) from 401 modern and 307 archaeological individuals. RESULTS: Ancestry analyses based on ancestry deconvolution, a process by which specific ancestries in admixed individuals can be identified and isolated using local ancestry inference, highlighted multiple pig-dispersal processes in Wallacea. The initial dispersal was a natural and/or human-mediated translocation of Island Southeast Asian endemic pigs from Java (S. verrucosus) into present-day Bali. The indigenous suid on Sulawesi, S. celebensis, then dispersed over water to the Lesser Sunda Islands, including Flores and Timor, potentially as a result of hunter-gatherer translocations more than 4000 years ago. More recently, domestic S. scrofa pigs from southern China and the Philippines were introduced across most islands of Wallacea and Oceania sometime after 3500 to 3000 years ago. Many of these introduced pigs later became feral on islands across the region. Finally, during the colonial period, pigs with European ancestry were introduced broadly across the region, including in the Lesser Sundas and Papua New Guinea. CONCLUSION: Our results demonstrate that non-native free-living pigs east of the Wallace Line have a complex ancestry that primarily reflects multiple intentional introductions by people. The most important of these events was the migration of Austronesian-speaking groups, ~4000 years ago, who moved from Southeast China and Taiwan via the Philippines and introduced domestic pigs across a vast geographical region from the Philippines to Hawai'i, many of which became feral. Map showing the dispersal of pigs into Wallacea, including deliberate introductions by people in Wallacea and the Pacific.: The numbers (1–4) on the arrows indicate the chronological order of these dispersal events, as per our analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Science is the property of American Association for the Advancement of Science and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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        Value: 10.1126/science.adv4963
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      – SubjectFull: Swine
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Human migrations
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