Rolling stones and stable homes: social structure, habitat diversity and population genetics of the Hawaiian spinner dolphin (Stenella longirostris)
- 20 January 2010
- journal article
- Published by Wiley in Molecular Ecology
- Vol. 19 (4), 732-748
- https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-294x.2010.04521.x
Abstract
Spinner dolphins (Stenella longirostris) exhibit different social behaviours at two regions in the Hawaiian Archipelago: off the high volcanic islands in the SE archipelago they form dynamic groups with ever-changing membership, but in the low carbonate atolls in the NW archipelago they form long-term stable groups. To determine whether these environmental and social differences influence population genetic structure, we surveyed spinner dolphins throughout the Hawaiian Archipelago with mtDNA control region sequences and 10 microsatellite loci (n = 505). F-statistics, Bayesian cluster analyses, and assignment tests revealed population genetic separations between most islands, with less genetic structuring among the NW atolls than among the SE high islands. The populations with the most stable social structure (Midway and Kure Atolls) have the highest gene flow between populations (mtDNA Phi(ST) < 0.001, P = 0.357; microsatellite F(ST) = -0.001; P = 0.597), and a population with dynamic groups and fluid social structure (the Kona Coast of the island of Hawai'i) has the lowest gene flow (mtDNA 0.042 < Phi(ST) < 0.236, P < 0.05; microsatellite 0.016 < F(ST) < 0.040, P < 0.001). We suggest that gene flow, dispersal, and social structure are influenced by the availability of habitat and resources at each island. Genetic comparisons to a South Pacific location (n = 16) indicate that Hawaiian populations are genetically depauperate and isolated from other Pacific locations (mtDNA 0.216 < F(ST) < 0.643, P < 0.001; microsatellite 0.058 < F(ST) < 0.090, P < 0.001); this isolation may also influence social and genetic structure within Hawai'i. Our results illustrate that genetic and social structure are flexible traits that can vary between even closely-related populations.Keywords
This publication has 63 references indexed in Scilit:
- Inferring weak population structure with the assistance of sample group informationMolecular Ecology Resources, 2009
- High genetic connectivity across the Indian and Pacific Oceans in the reef fish Myripristis berndti (Holocentridae)Marine Ecology Progress Series, 2007
- High gene flow in oceanic bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) of the North AtlanticConservation Genetics, 2007
- Mitochondrial and nuclear DNA analyses reveal fine scale geographic structure in bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in the Gulf of MexicoConservation Genetics, 2005
- A STANDARDIZED GENETIC DIFFERENTIATION MEASUREEvolution, 2005
- micro‐checker: software for identifying and correcting genotyping errors in microsatellite dataMolecular Ecology Notes, 2004
- SKIN SWABBING FOR GENETIC ANALYSIS: APPLICATION TO DUSKY DOLPHINS (LAGENORHYNCHUS OBSCURUS)Marine Mammal Science, 1999
- HABITAT USE PATTERNS AND RANGES OF THE BOTTLENOSE DOLPHIN IN THE GULF OF CALIFORNIA, MEXICOMarine Mammal Science, 1992
- Seasonal changes in distribution and habitat differences among dolphins in the eastern tropical PacificMarine Ecology Progress Series, 1990
- A simple method for estimating evolutionary rates of base substitutions through comparative studies of nucleotide sequencesJournal of Molecular Evolution, 1980