Abstract

The hawksbill turtle is a broadly distributed, highly migratory and critically endangered sea turtle species. The paucity of studies restricts the comprehension of its behavior and life history. In this work, we performed a global phylogeographic analysis using a compilation of previously published mitochondrial haplotype data to understand the dynamics and diversity of hawksbill populations worldwide. Our results revealed a complex demographic pattern associated to hawksbill phylogeography since the Pliocene. Isolation by distance is not enough to explain distinct demographic units of hawksbill turtles, which are also influenced by other factors as oceanic currents, coral reef distribution and nesting timing. The foraging aggregations are typically mixed stocks of individuals originating from multiple nesting areas, but there is also a trend of foragers coming from nearby natal beaches. Phylogenetic analysis indicates two highly divergent major lineages split between Atlantic and Indo-Pacific rookeries, but there is also a more recent Atlantic Ocean colonization from the Indo-Pacific Ocean. Long-distance dispersal events are likely responsible for homogenization between distant populations within oceans. Our findings provided new insights about population connectivity, identified gaps that should be prioritized in future research and highlighted the need for international efforts aiming at hawksbill's conservation.

Highlights

  • Species that exhibit worldwide distribution and highly migratory behavior are rarely studied in a global context, covering all population diversity and connectivity

  • Haplotype frequencies were obtained from the literature for 18 rookeries and 23 foraging aggregations from Atlantic Ocean and for 22 rookeries and 17 foraging aggregations from Indo-Pacific Ocean

  • We found a miscalling in haplotypes EiA23 and EiA41 deposited in the GenBank database by LeRoux et al (2012)

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Summary

Introduction

Species that exhibit worldwide distribution and highly migratory behavior are rarely studied in a global context, covering all population diversity and connectivity. Only fragmented information is generated on the evolutionary history of species. Species dynamics change according to life stages, varying from strongly structured nesting populations or rookeries to highly diverse foraging aggregations or mixed stocks (Bowen et al, 2005). Phylogeographic studies use genetic and distribution data from populations to investigate processes related to their origin, distribution and dynamics (Beheregaray, 2008). Phylogeographic data has been especially important to provide current and historical information about sea turtle populations, allowing to characterize population structure and demographic history, to evaluate the remaining genetic di-

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