Fine‐scale population structure and connectivity of bottlenose dolphins, <scp><i>Tursiops truncatus</i></scp>, in European waters and implications for conservation

Nykänen, Milaja; Louis, Marie; Dillane, Eileen; Alfonsi, Eric; Berrow, Simon; O’Brien, Joanne; Brownlow, Andrew; Covelo, Pablo; Dabin, Willy; Deaville, Rob; Stephanis, Renaud de; Gally, François; Gauffier, Pauline; Ingram, Simon; Lucas, Tamara; Mirimin, Luca; Penrose, Rod; Rogan, Emer; Silva, Mónica; Simon-Bouhet, Benoît; Gaggiotti, Oscar E.

doi:10.1002/aqc.3139

Cited by 18 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 67 publications

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“…Intriguingly, the division between Pacific and Atlantic harbour seals is supported by remarkably high levels of genetic differentiation, with F ST ranging from 0.38 to 0.69 for pairwise population comparisons between the two oceans. In comparison, clearly defined subspecies or ecotypes in other marine megafauna, such as harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) and bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) are characterized by F ST values up to the range of 0.157-0.270 for genomic data (Chehida et al, 2021;Louis et al, 2014;Nykänen et al, 2019), which is much lower than those we estimate between Pacific and Atlantic harbour seals. The understanding of marine speciation processes is certainly not settled (Faria et al, 2021).…”

Section: Implications For Harbour Seal Taxonomycontrasting

confidence: 76%

Origin and expansion of the world’s most widespread pinniped: Range‐wide population genomics of the harbour seal (Phoca vitulina)

et al. 2022

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The harbour seal (Phoca vitulina) is the most widely distributed pinniped, occupying a wide variety of habitats and climatic zones across the Northern Hemisphere. Intriguingly, the harbour seal is also one of the most philopatric seals, raising questions as to how it colonized its current range. To shed light on the origin, remarkable range expansion, population structure and genetic diversity of this species, we used genotyping‐by‐sequencing to analyse ~13,500 biallelic single nucleotide polymorphisms from 286 individuals sampled from 22 localities across the species’ range. Our results point to a Northeast Pacific origin of the harbour seal, colonization of the North Atlantic via the Canadian Arctic, and subsequent stepping‐stone range expansions across the North Atlantic from North America to Europe, accompanied by a successive loss of genetic diversity. Our analyses further revealed a deep divergence between modern North Pacific and North Atlantic harbour seals, with finer‐scale genetic structure at regional and local scales consistent with strong philopatry. The study provides new insights into the harbour seal's remarkable ability to colonize and adapt to a wide range of habitats. Furthermore, it has implications for current harbour seal subspecies delineations and highlights the need for international and national red lists and management plans to ensure the protection of genetically and demographically isolated populations.

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Section: Implications For Harbour Seal Taxonomycontrasting

confidence: 76%

Origin and expansion of the world’s most widespread pinniped: Range‐wide population genomics of the harbour seal (Phoca vitulina)

et al. 2022

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“…Additional diversity indices, mean allele number, and mean heterozygosity values for each population and all subsets are provided in Table S6, and results for allelic richness, mean number of alleles, and heterozygosity by locus in each population and subset are given in Table S7. Overall, these diversity results are comparable to those found for other bottlenose dolphin populations within the GOMx (Sellas, Wells & Rosel, 2005; Litz et al, 2012; Vollmer & Rosel, 2017), the western North Atlantic (Rosel, Hansen & Hohn, 2009; Litz et al, 2012), the eastern North Atlantic (Nykänen et al, 2019), and Hawaii (Martien et al, 2012).…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 79%

Assessing common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) population structure in Mississippi Sound and coastal waters of the north central Gulf of Mexico

Vollmer

Rosel

Mullin

et al. 2021

Aquatic Conservation

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Population structure of highly mobile marine organisms can be complex and difficult to study, but it is important to understand how populations partition themselves within their environment for accurate assessment of both natural and anthropogenic impacts and successful management. The 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill negatively impacted common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) within Mississippi Sound and the surrounding north central Gulf of Mexico (GOMx); however, little was known about their underlying population structure in these waters. Thus, it was unclear how many demographically independent populations were affected by the spill. Common bottlenose dolphin samples were collected throughout inshore waters of Mississippi Sound and coastal waters of the north‐central GOMx. Mitochondrial DNA control region sequence data and 19 nuclear microsatellite loci were analysed to determine how many populations are present and characterize their range throughout these waters. Bayesian clustering and migration analyses identified two genetically distinct and demographically independent populations: one predominantly inhabiting Mississippi Sound and adjacent coastal waters, and a second population extending generally from offshore of Mobile Bay, Alabama, east along the Florida Panhandle. Neither of these populations align with the currently delineated management stocks previously used to estimate impacts from the oil spill on common bottlenose dolphins in this portion of the GOMx. These results suggest that revisions may be necessary so that management stocks accurately represent the demographically independent populations present in these waters. Furthermore, better comprehension of underlying population structure will enhance impact assessments on common bottlenose dolphins and provide more appropriate baseline data to support future restoration and conservation objectives.

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Section: Social Structure and Ecological Nichementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Genetic data can be incorporated with ecological information such as stable isotope analyses, and the geographical scale of habitat use and movements, to improve the designation of meaningful conservation units (Nykänen et al, 2019 ; Thiemann et al, 2008 ). This approach can also help resolve cases where genetic units are not socially segregated but comprise individuals with dietary and behavioural differences, to show whether a process of niche specialization and emergence of ecotypes might have started and require further study (Tavares et al, 2018 ).…”

Section: A Framework and Recommendations For Incorporating Genetic St...mentioning

confidence: 99%

The relevance of genetic structure in ecotype designation and conservation management

Strønen

Norman

Wal

et al. 2022

Evolutionary Applications

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The concept of ecotypes is complex, partly because of its interdisciplinary nature, but the idea is intrinsically valuable for evolutionary biology and applied conservation. The complex nature of ecotypes has spurred some confusion and inconsistencies in the literature, thereby limiting broader theoretical development and practical application. We provide suggestions for how incorporating genetic analyses can ease confusion and help define ecotypes. We approach this by systematically reviewing 112 publications across taxa that simultaneously mention the terms ecotype, conservation and management, to examine the current use of the term in the context of conservation and management. We found that most ecotypeThis is an open access article under the terms of the Creat ive Commo ns Attri bution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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Fine‐scale population structure and connectivity of bottlenose dolphins, Tursiops truncatus, in European waters and implications for conservation

Cited by 18 publications

References 67 publications

Origin and expansion of the world’s most widespread pinniped: Range‐wide population genomics of the harbour seal (Phoca vitulina)

Origin and expansion of the world’s most widespread pinniped: Range‐wide population genomics of the harbour seal (Phoca vitulina)

Assessing common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) population structure in Mississippi Sound and coastal waters of the north central Gulf of Mexico

The relevance of genetic structure in ecotype designation and conservation management

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