Genetic differentiation among North Atlantic killer whale populations

  1. ANDREW D. FOOTE1,2,
  2. JULIA T. VILSTRUP2,
  3. RENAUD De STEPHANIS3,4,
  4. PHILIPPE VERBORGH3,
  5. SANDRA C. ABEL NIELSEN2,
  6. ROBERT DEAVILLE5,
  7. LARS KLEIVANE6,
  8. VIDAL MARTÍN7,
  9. PATRICK J. O. MILLER8,
  10. NILS ØIEN9,
  11. MONICA PÉREZ-GIL7,
  12. MORTEN RASMUSSEN2,
  13. ROBERT J. REID10,
  14. KELLY M. ROBERTSON11,
  15. EMER ROGAN12,
  16. TIU SIMILÄ13,
  17. MARIA L. TEJEDOR7,
  18. HEIKE VESTER14,15,
  19. GÍSLI A. VÍKINGSSON16,
  20. ESKE WILLERSLEV2,
  21. M. THOMAS P. GILBERT2,
  22. STUART B. PIERTNEY1

Article first published online: 11 DEC 2010

DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-294X.2010.04957.x

Issue

Molecular Ecology

Molecular Ecology

Volume 20, Issue 3, pages 629–641, February 2011

Additional Information

How to Cite

FOOTE, A. D., VILSTRUP, J. T., De STEPHANIS, R., VERBORGH, P., ABEL NIELSEN, S. C., DEAVILLE, R., KLEIVANE, L., MARTÍN, V., MILLER, P. J. O., ØIEN, N., PÉREZ-GIL, M., RASMUSSEN, M., REID, R. J., ROBERTSON, K. M., ROGAN, E., SIMILÄ, T., TEJEDOR, M. L., VESTER, H., VÍKINGSSON, G. A., WILLERSLEV, E., GILBERT, M. T. P. and PIERTNEY, S. B. (2011), Genetic differentiation among North Atlantic killer whale populations. Molecular Ecology, 20: 629–641. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-294X.2010.04957.x

Author Information

  1. 1

    Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Aberdeen, School of Biological Sciences, Tillydrone Avenue, Aberdeen AB24 2TZ, UK

  2. 2

    Centre for GeoGenetics, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Øster Voldgade 5-7, 1350 Copenhagen K, Denmark

  3. 3

    CIRCE, Conservation Information and Research on Cetaceans, C/Cabeza de Manzaneda 3, Algeciras-Pelayo, 11390 Cadiz, Spain

  4. 4

    Departamento de Biologia de la Conservación, Estación Biologica de Doñana, CSIC, C/Americo Vespucio S/N, Isla de la Cartuja, Sevilla 41092, Spain

  5. 5

    Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, Regent’s Park, London NW1 4RY, UK

  6. 6

    LKARTS-Norway, 3188 Horten, Norway

  7. 7

    SECAC, Society for the Study of Cetaceans in Canary Archipelago, Edificio Antiguo Varadero, Local 8B, Puerto Calero, 35571 Yaiza, Lanzarote, Spain

  8. 8

    Sea Mammal Research Unit, Gatty Marine Laboratory, St Andrews, Fife KY16 8LB, UK

  9. 9

    Institute of Marine Research, PO Box 1870 Nordnes, 5817 Bergen, Norway

  10. 10

    Wildlife Unit, SAC Veterinary Services, Inverness IV2 4JZ, UK

  11. 11

    Southwest Fisheries Science Center, 3333 N. Torres Pine Ct, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA

  12. 12

    Department of Zoology, Ecology and Plant Science, University College, Cork, Ireland

  13. 13

    Wild Idea, Box 181, 8465 Straumsjøen, Norway

  14. 14

    Cognitive Ethology Lab, German Primate Center, Göttingen, Kellnerweg 4, 37077 Göttingen, Germany

  15. 15

    Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization, Bunsenstr. 10, 37073 Göttingen, Germany

  16. 16

    Marine Research Institute, Program for Whale Research, PO Box 1390, 121 Reykjavík, Iceland

*Andrew D. Foote, Fax: +45 35 32 13  00; E-mail: footead@gmail.com

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 17 JAN 2011
  2. Article first published online: 11 DEC 2010
  3. Received 16 December 2009; revision received 27 October 2010; accepted 2 November 2010

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Keywords:

  • behaviour/social evolution;
  • ecological genetics;
  • population ecology;
  • population genetics—empirical;
  • predator–prey interactions

Abstract

Population genetic structure of North Atlantic killer whale samples was resolved from differences in allele frequencies of 17 microsatellite loci, mtDNA control region haplotype frequencies and for a subset of samples, using complete mitogenome sequences. Three significantly differentiated populations were identified. Differentiation based on microsatellite allele frequencies was greater between the two allopatric populations than between the two pairs of partially sympatric populations. Spatial clustering of individuals within each of these populations overlaps with the distribution of particular prey resources: herring, mackerel and tuna, which each population has been seen predating. Phylogenetic analyses using complete mitogenomes suggested two populations could have resulted from single founding events and subsequent matrilineal expansion. The third population, which was sampled at lower latitudes and lower density, consisted of maternal lineages from three highly divergent clades. Pairwise population differentiation was greater for estimates based on mtDNA control region haplotype frequencies than for estimates based on microsatellite allele frequencies, and there were no mitogenome haplotypes shared among populations. This suggests low or no female migration and that gene flow was primarily male mediated when populations spatially and temporally overlap. These results demonstrate that genetic differentiation can arise through resource specialization in the absence of physical barriers to gene flow.

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