Molecular ecology meets remote sensing: environmental drivers to population structure of humpback dolphins in the Western Indian Ocean

Martin Mendez, American Museum of Natural History, mmendez@amnh.org
Ajit Subramaniam, Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory, ajit@ldeo.columbia.edu (Presenter)

High resolution remotely sensed environmental data can be used to place genetic analyses of population structure of cetaceans. We used satellite derived ocean color, sea surface temperature, and sea surface height data along with genetic sequence data to assess potential environmental influences on population structure patterns for humpback dolphins in the Western Indian Ocean. We analyzed mitochondrial DNA data from 94 dolphins from the coasts of South Africa, Mozambique, Tanzania and Oman, employing frequency based and maximum-likelihood algorithms to assess population structure and migration patterns. The genetic data were combined with 13 years of satellite derived oceanographic variables known to influence cetacean dispersal and population structure. Our analyses show strong and highly significant genetic structure between all putative populations, except for those in South Africa and Mozambique. Interestingly, the oceanographic data display marked environmental heterogeneity between all sampling areas and a degree of overlap between South Africa and Mozambique. Our combined analyses therefore suggest the occurrence of genetically isolated populations of humpback dolphins in areas that are environmentally distinct. This study highlights the utility of molecular tools in combination with high-resolution satellite derived environmental data to address questions not only pertaining to genetic population structure, but also to relevant ecological processes in marine species.

Presentation Type:  Poster

Session:  Other   (Wed 10:00 AM)

Associated Project(s): 

• Related Activity

Poster Location ID: 256