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Lookup NU author(s): Professor Per BerggrenORCiD
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
© 2025 The Author(s). Molecular Ecology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.The marine environment comprises vast regions without physical barriers to movement, making the understanding of population isolation and the evolution of diversity challenging. This is especially the case for highly mobile marine species. Here we investigate populations of the common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) across the Mediterranean Sea and adjacent North Atlantic using high-resolution genomic markers (RADseq) and stable isotope analyses to better understand the evolution of population structure in this system. High-resolution genomic data and broad geographic sampling revealed patterns of structure not previously identified, and integration with stable isotope data suggests that prey choice varies across this region. Unexpected patterns included genetic and isotopic similarity between the North Atlantic and the region around Sicily (but not including the medially located Gulf of Cádiz and surrounding regions). The regional habitat within and beyond the Mediterranean Sea is structured with ocean frontal systems including thermal and halocline transitions, several of which show alignment with genetic transitions within our data. Our data help to distinguish among possible drivers of population differentiation for a marine predator that has the potential for long-distance dispersion.
Author(s): Moore DM, Moura AE, Natoli A, Papale E, Cunningham EG, Silva MA, Genov T, Gaspari S, Buscaino G, Berggren P, Grocke DR, Hoelzel AR
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Molecular Ecology
Year: 2025
Pages: epub ahead of print
Online publication date: 01/12/2025
Acceptance date: 06/11/2025
Date deposited: 16/12/2025
ISSN (print): 0962-1083
ISSN (electronic): 1365-294X
Publisher: John Wiley and Sons Inc
URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.70182
DOI: 10.1111/mec.70182
Data Access Statement: Sequence and genotype data are available through Dryad at DOI: https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.xsj3tx9vd. The code used in analysis is available on Zenodo at: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17560246. There are no restrictions on data availability
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