Springer 2005
Conservation Genetics (2005) 6:587–600 DOI 10.1007/s10592-005-9013-9
Genetic differentiation and intraspecific structure of Eastern Tropical Pacific spotted dolphins, Stenella attenuata, revealed by DNA analyses Sergio Escorza-Trevin˜o1,2,*, Frederick I. Archer2, Maria Rosales1, Aimee Lang2 & Andrew E. Dizon2 1
Department of Biology, California State University, 5151 State University Dr. Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90032, USA; 2Southwest Fisheries Science Center, 8604 La Jolla Shores Dr. La Jolla, La Jolla, CA, 92038, USA (*Corresponding author: phone: +1-323-343-2086; fax: +1-323-343-5795; e-mail:
[email protected].) Received 27 July 2004; accepted 11 October 2004
Key words: microsatellites, mtDNA, population structure, spotted dolphin, stocks
Abstract Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region sequences and microsatellite loci length polymorphisms were used to investigate genetic differentiation in spotted dolphins (Stenella attenuata) in the Eastern Tropical Pacific and to examine the intraspecific structure of the coastal subspecies (Stenella attenuata graffmani). One-hundred and thirty-five animals from several coastal areas and 90 offshore animals were sequenced for 455 bp of the mitochondrial control region, resulting in 112 mtDNA haplotypes. Phylogenetic analyses and the existence of shared haplotypes between the two subspecies suggest recent and/or current gene flow. Analyses using v2, FST (based on haplotype frequencies) and FST values (based on frequencies and genetic distances between haplotypes) yielded statistically significant separation (randomized permutation values P
