The genetic diversity, phylogeography, and population structure of Pacific harbor seals reveal isolation at the southern end of their distribution

The Pacific harbor seal (Phoca vitulina richardii) occurs in the Mexican Pacific region at the southernmost edge of the subspecies’ distribution, along 700 km of coastline and on nine islands west of the Baja California peninsula. Its abundance corresponds to 3% of its total abundance in the north Pacific Ocean. The species is considered relatively sedentary and highly philopatric, which make it vulnerable to stochastic processes; thus, reproductive and genetic isolation of the Mexican Pacific colonies is expected. This study aimed to genetically characterize the harbor seal in the Mexican Pacific to inform conservation efforts.  We estimated the levels of genetic diversity for five colonies, using a 572-base pair mitochondrial DNA control region fragment and nine microsatellite loci. We examined the population genetic structure and its phylogeographic patterns. We found 15 variable sites that defined 18 mitochondrial DNA haplotypes. Results show one of the lowest levels of diversity re..., , , This README file was generated on 2024-01-17 by Alicia Abadía-Cardoso.

GENERAL INFORMATION

1. Title of Dataset: The genetic diversity, phylogeography, and population structure of Pacific harbor seals reveal isolation at the southern end of their distribution

2. Author Information
A. Principal Investigator Contact Information
Name: Yolanda Schramm\
Institution: Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Address: Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico
Email:

3. Date of data collection (single date, range, approximate date): 2014-2016

4. Geographic location of data collection: Baja California, Mexico (Todos Santos Island, Punta Banda Estuary, San Jerónimo Island, Natividad Island, and San Roque Island)

5. Information about funding sources that supported the collection of the data: National Science and Technology Council (Fondo SEP-CONACyT call CB-2012-01, project 179451)

SHARING/ACCESS INFORMATION

1. Licenses/restrictions placed on the data: CC0 1.0 Universal (CC...