Seascape genetics of the Atlantic spotted dolphin (Stenella frontalis) based on mitochondrial DNA

The Atlantic spotted dolphin (Stenella frontalis) is endemic to tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate waters of the Atlantic Ocean. Throughout its distribution, both geographic distance and environmental variation may contribute to population structure of the species. In this study we follow a seascape genetics approach to investigate population differentiation of Atlantic spotted dolphins based on a large worldwide dataset and the relationship with marine environmental variables. The results revealed that the Atlantic spotted dolphin exhibits population genetic structure across its distribution based on mitochondrial DNA control region (mtDNA-CR) data. Analyses based on the contemporary landscape suggested, at both the individual and population-level, that the population genetic structure is consistent with the isolation-by-distance model. However, because geography and environmental matrices were correlated, and because in some, but not all analyses, we found a significant effect ...

大西洋斑海豚（Stenella frontalis）为大西洋热带、亚热带及暖温带海域的特有物种。在其分布范围内，地理距离与环境异质性均可能对该物种种群结构产生影响。本研究采用海洋景观遗传学（seascape genetics）方法，基于全球大型数据集探究大西洋斑海豚的种群分化情况，及其与海洋环境变量之间的关联。基于线粒体DNA控制区（mtDNA-CR）序列数据，研究结果显示大西洋斑海豚在其整个分布范围内存在种群遗传结构。基于当代景观的分析结果表明，无论是在个体还是种群尺度上，其种群遗传结构均符合距离隔离模型。然而，由于地理与环境矩阵存在相关性，且在部分（而非全部）分析中我们发现了显著影响……