Perturbation drives changing metapopulation dynamics in a top marine predator

Funding: O.E.G. was supported by the Marine Alliance for Science and Technology for Scotland, funded by the Scottish Funding Council (grant no. HR09011). E.L.C. was supported by a Newton Fellowship (Royal Society of London), Marie Curie Fellowship (EU Horizon2020) and a Rutherford Discovery Fellowsh...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
Main Authors: Carroll, Emma L, Hall, Ailsa, Olsen, Morten Tange, Onoufriou, Aubrie B, Gaggiotti, Oscar E, Russell, Debbie J. F.
Other Authors: The Royal Society, European Commission, University of St Andrews. School of Biology, University of St Andrews. Sea Mammal Research Unit, University of St Andrews. Scottish Oceans Institute, University of St Andrews. Marine Alliance for Science & Technology Scotland, University of St Andrews. Centre for Research into Ecological & Environmental Modelling
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: 2020
Subjects:
Local population
Gene flow
Harbour seal
GC Oceanography
QH301 Biology
QH426 Genetics
DAS
SDG 14 - Life Below Water
GC
QH301
QH426
New Zealand
harbour seal
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10023/20343
https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2020.0318
Description
Summary:Funding: O.E.G. was supported by the Marine Alliance for Science and Technology for Scotland, funded by the Scottish Funding Council (grant no. HR09011). E.L.C. was supported by a Newton Fellowship (Royal Society of London), Marie Curie Fellowship (EU Horizon2020) and a Rutherford Discovery Fellowship (Royal Society of New Zealand). A.J.H. and D.J.F.R. were supportedby NERC (grant no. SMRU 10/001). Metapopulation theory assumes a balance between local decays/extinctions and local growth/new colonisations. Here we investigate whether recent population declines across part of the UK harbour seal range represent normal metapopulation dynamics or are indicative of perturbations potentially threatening the metapopulation viability, using 20 years of population trends, location tracking data (n = 380), and UK-wide, multi-generational population genetic data (n = 269). First, we use microsatellite data to show that two genetic groups previously identified are distinct metapopulations: northern and southern. Then, we characterize the northern metapopulation dynamics in two different periods, before and after the start of regional declines (pre-/peri-perturbation). We identify source-sink dynamics across the northern metapopulation, with two putative source populations apparently supporting three likely sink populations, and a recent metapopulation-wide disruption of migration coincident with the perturbation. The northern metapopulation appears to be in decay, highlighting that changes in local populations can lead to radical alterations in the overall metapopulation's persistence and dynamics. Postprint Peer reviewed

Similar Items