Journal article
Inconsistency between socio-spatial and genetic structure in a coastal dolphin population
Frontiers in Marine Science, Vol.7, Art. 617540
2021
Abstract
Identifying population structure and boundaries among communities of wildlife exposed to anthropogenic threats is key to successful conservation management. Previous studies on the demography, social and spatial structure of Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus) suggested four nearly discrete behavioral communities in Perth metropolitan waters, Western Australia. We investigated the genetic structure of these four communities using highly polymorphic microsatellite markers and part of the hypervariable segment of the mitochondrial control region. Overall, there was no evidence of spatial genetic structure. We found significant, yet very small genetic differentiation between some communities, most likely due to the presence of highly related individuals within these communities. Our findings of high levels of contemporary migration and highly related individuals among communities point toward a panmictic genetic population with continuous gene flow among each of the communities. In species with slow life histories and fission-fusion dynamics, such as Tursiops spp., genetic and socio-spatial structures may reflect different timescales. Thus, despite genetic similarity, each social community should be considered as a distinct ecological unit to be conserved because they are exposed to different anthropogenic threats and occur in different ecological habitats, social structure being as important as genetic information for immediate conservation management. The estuarine community, in particular, is highly vulnerable and appropriate conservation measures are needed in order to maintain its connectivity with the adjacent, semi-enclosed coastal communities.
Details
- Title
- Inconsistency between socio-spatial and genetic structure in a coastal dolphin population
- Authors/Creators
- D.B.H. Chabanne (Author/Creator)S.J. Allen (Author/Creator) - University of ZurichW.B. Sherwin (Author/Creator) - UNSW SydneyH. Finn (Author/Creator) - Curtin UniversityM. Krützen (Author/Creator) - University of Zurich
- Publication Details
- Frontiers in Marine Science, Vol.7, Art. 617540
- Publisher
- Frontiers Media
- Identifiers
- 991005544420607891
- Copyright
- © 2021 The Authors
- Murdoch Affiliation
- Centre for Sustainable Aquatic Ecosystems; Harry Butler Institute
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article
UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
This output has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:
Metrics
128 File views/ downloads
77 Record Views
InCites Highlights
These are selected metrics from InCites Benchmarking & Analytics tool, related to this output
- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- International collaboration
- Citation topics
- 3 Agriculture, Environment & Ecology
- 3.35 Zoology & Animal Ecology
- 3.35.796 Marine Mammal Ecology
- Web Of Science research areas
- Environmental Sciences
- Marine & Freshwater Biology
- ESI research areas
- Plant & Animal Science