Distribution of mtDNA haplotypes in North-Atlantic humpback whales:The influence of behavior on population structure

Samples from 136 humpback whales Megaptera novaeangliae, representing 5 feeding aggregations in the North Atlantic and 1 in the Antarctic, were analyzed with respect to the sequence variation in the mitochondrial (mt) control region. A total of 288 base pairs was sequenced by direct sequencing of as...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Published in:Marine Ecology Progress Series
Main Authors: Palsboll, PJ, Clapham, PJ, Mattila, DK, Larsen, F, Sears, R, Siegismund, HR, Sigurjonsson, J, Vasquez, O, Arctander, P
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: 1995
Subjects:
PHILOPATRY
POPULATION GENETICS
MITOCHONDRIAL CONTROL REGION
PCR
POLYMERASE CHAIN-REACTION
HUMAN MITOCHONDRIAL-DNA
D-LOOP REGION
MEGAPTERA-NOVAEANGLIAE
BALEEN WHALES
SOUTHERN GULF
EVOLUTION
MIGRATION
SEQUENCES
ABUNDANCE
Antarctic
The Antarctic
Antarc*
Balaenoptera physalus
baleen whales
Fin whale
Iceland
Megaptera novaeangliae
North Atlantic
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/11370/4b8062cb-2065-48bc-bed9-b9c2e7101dcf
https://research.rug.nl/en/publications/4b8062cb-2065-48bc-bed9-b9c2e7101dcf
https://doi.org/10.3354/meps116001
https://pure.rug.nl/ws/files/62552305/Distribution_of_mtDNA_haplotypes_in.pdf
Description
Summary:Samples from 136 humpback whales Megaptera novaeangliae, representing 5 feeding aggregations in the North Atlantic and 1 in the Antarctic, were analyzed with respect to the sequence variation in the mitochondrial (mt) control region. A total of 288 base pairs was sequenced by direct sequencing of asymmetrically amplified DNA. Thirty-one different haplotypes were identified. The nucleotide diversity for the total sample was estimated to be 2.6 %, which is high relative to other North Atlantic cetaceans. The degree of genetic differentiation in various subsets of the samples was estimated and tested for statistical significance by Monte Carlo simulations. Significant degrees of heterogeneity were found between the Antarctic and all North Atlantic areas, as well as between Iceland and the western North Atlantic samples. A genealogical tree was estimated for the 31 haplotypes and rooted with the homologous sequence from a fin whale Balaenoptera physalus. The branching pattern in the genealogical tree suggests that the North Atlantic Ocean has been populated by 2 independent influxes of humpback whales. The combined results from the homogeneity tests and the genealogical tree indicate that behaviour (in this case maternally directed site fidelity to a foraging area) can influence the population structure of marine cetaceans on an evolutionary time scale.

Similar Items