Abstract
Identifying population structure and boundaries among communities of wildlife exposed to anthropogenic threats is key to successful conservation management. Previous studies on the demography, social and spatial structure of Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus) suggested four nearly discrete behavioral communities in Perth metropolitan waters, Western Australia. We investigated the genetic structure of these four communities using highly polymorphic microsatellite markers and part of the hypervariable segment of the mitochondrial control region. Overall, there was no evidence of spatial genetic structure. We found significant, yet very small genetic differentiation between some communities, most likely due to the presence of highly related individuals within these communities. Our findings of high levels of contemporary migration and highly related individuals among communities point toward a panmictic genetic population with continuous gene flow among each of the communities. In species with slow life histories and fission-fusion dynamics, such asTursiopsspp., genetic and socio-spatial structures may reflect different timescales. Thus, despite genetic similarity, each social community should be considered as a distinct ecological unit to be conserved because they are exposed to different anthropogenic threats and occur in different ecological habitats, social structure being as important as genetic information for immediate conservation management. The estuarine community, in particular, is highly vulnerable and appropriate conservation measures are needed in order to maintain its connectivity with the adjacent, semi-enclosed coastal communities.
Highlights
Social structure can play a critical role in the conservation of wildlife as it underpins the demography and behavior of a population and influences processes such as habitat use and dietary specialization (Snijders et al, 2017; Louis et al, 2018)
We investigated the extent of genetic structure and the degree of gene flow occurring among the four communities in Perth metropolitan waters using several genetic marker systems
Our study suggests that the present socio-spatial structure of Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins in Perth metropolitan waters does not reflect a genetic structure defined by a clear separation between communities
Summary
Social structure can play a critical role in the conservation of wildlife as it underpins the demography and behavior of a population and influences processes such as habitat use and dietary specialization (Snijders et al, 2017; Louis et al, 2018). Genetic differentiation among communities and populations can result from recent divergence with no ongoing gene flow or long-term separation with low recurrent gene flow (Nielsen and Wakeley, 2001; Palsbøll et al, 2004). Discriminating between these scenarios has important implications for conservation, as isolated communities or populations may require management measures that are dependent upon their demographic patterns, ecological and social organization, as well as their levels of exposure to anthropogenic stressors (Yannic et al, 2016; Crawford et al, 2018)
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