Evolutionary impacts differ between two exploited populations of northern bottlenose whale (Hyperoodon ampullatus) ...

• Main Authors: Einfeldt, Anthony, Feyrer, Laura, Bentzen, Paul, Whitehead, Hal, Paterson, Ian
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: Dryad 2019
• Subjects: demographic reconstruction; low diversity; whaling; Newfoundland; Davis Strait; hyperoodon ampullatus; Iceland; Northern bottlenose whale; Northwest Atlantic
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.xgxd254bx; https://datadryad.org/stash/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.xgxd254bx

Interpretation of conservation status should be informed by an appreciation of genetic diversity, past demography, and overall trends in population size, which contribute to a species’ evolutionary potential and resilience to genetic risks. Low genetic diversity can be symptomatic of rapid demographic declines and impose genetic risks to populations, but can also be maintained by natural processes. The northern bottlenose whale Hyperoodon ampullatus has the lowest known mitochondrial diversity of any cetacean and was intensely whaled in the Northwest Atlantic over the last century, but whether exploitation imposed genetic risks that could limit recovery is unknown. We sequenced full mitogenomes and genotyped 37 novel microsatellites for 128 individuals from known areas of abundance in the Scotian Shelf, Northern and Southern Labrador, Davis Strait, and Iceland, and a newly discovered group off Newfoundland. Despite low diversity and shared haplotypes across all regions, both markers supported the Endangered ... : Sampling, DNA preparation, sequencing, and assembly methods are described in: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ece3.5813 ...