Is there a distinct harbor porpoise subpopulation in the Marmara Sea?

• Published in: Mitochondrial DNA Part A
• Main Authors: Ozturk, Bayram, Öztürk, Ali, Bilgin, Rasit, Tonay, Arda M., Dede, Ayhan, Yazici, Ozge, Bilgin, Sabri, Danyer, Erdem, Aytemiz, Isil, Maraci, Oncu
• Other Authors: Boğaziçi Üniversitesi ,, 74374
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2017
• Subjects: Temel Bilimler; Moleküler Biyoloji ve Genetik; Yaşam Bilimleri; Tıbbi Genetik; Dahili Tıp Bilimleri; Sağlık Bilimleri; Tıp; Yaşam Bilimleri (LIFE); GENETİK VE HAYAT; Phocoena phocoena
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12627/152122; https://doi.org/10.3109/24701394.2016.1155118; https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?partnerID=HzOxMe3b&scp=85020412777&origin=inward

Genetic population structure of geographically isolated endangered Black Sea harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena relicta) is little known in Turkish waters, especially in the Turkish Straits System (TSS- Marmara Sea, Bosphorus and Dardanelles), which connects the Black Sea and the Aegean Sea. Mitochondrial DNA sequences of 70 new individuals sampled in the Turkish Black Sea, TSS and Aegean Sea, revealed five new haplotypes from the Black Sea. The findings support the idea that harbor porpoises from the Black Sea dispersed into the Aegean through the TSS. Considering signatures of population expansion, all subpopulations showed a signature of population expansion. The network data and the Phi st calculations indicated that the Marmara Sea subpopulation was significantly differentiated from all of the other subpopulations, and supports the notion of its isolated. The finding of a potential management unit (MU) within an already heavily impacted subpopulation as a whole suggests that the individuals of P. p. relicta inhabiting the Marmara Sea require a very rigorous conservation strategy to ensure the survival of this subpopulation, represented by its unique haplotype.