TY - JOUR
T1 - The interplay of homing and dispersal in green turtles
T2 - A focus on the southwestern atlantic
AU - Naro-Maciel, Eugenia
AU - Bondioli, Ana Cristina Vigliar
AU - Martin, Meredith
AU - De Pádua Almeida, Antônio
AU - Baptistotte, Cecília
AU - Bellini, Claudio
AU - Marcovaldi, Maria Ângela
AU - Santos, Armando José Barsante
AU - Amato, George
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by a grant from the Royal Caribbean Ocean Fund (to E.N.M. and G.A.) and a private donation from the Telljohann family (to E.N.M.).
PY - 2012/11
Y1 - 2012/11
N2 - Current understanding of spatial ecology is insufficient in many threatened marine species, failing to provide a solid basis for conservation and management. To address this issue for globally endangered green turtles, we investigated their population distribution by sequencing a mitochondrial control region segment from the Rocas Atoll courtship area (n = 30 males) and four feeding grounds (FGs) in Brazil (n = 397), and compared our findings to published data (nnesting = 1205; nfeeding = 1587). At Rocas Atoll, the first Atlantic courtship area sequenced to date, we found males were differentiated from local juveniles but not from nesting females. In combination with tag data, this indicates possible male philopatry. The most common haplotypes detected at the study sites were CMA-08 and CMA-05, and significant temporal variation was not revealed. Although feeding grounds were differentiated overall, intra-regional structure was less pronounced. Ascension was the primary natal source of the study FGs, with Surinam and Trindade as secondary sources. The study clarified the primary connectivity between Trindade and Brazil. Possible linkages to African populations were considered, but there was insufficient resolution to conclusively determine this connection. The distribution of FG haplotype lineages was nonrandom and indicative of regional clustering. The study investigated impacts of population size, geographic distance, ocean currents, and juvenile natal homing on connectivity, addressed calls for increased genetic sampling in the southwestern Atlantic, and provided data important for conservation of globally endangered green turtles.
AB - Current understanding of spatial ecology is insufficient in many threatened marine species, failing to provide a solid basis for conservation and management. To address this issue for globally endangered green turtles, we investigated their population distribution by sequencing a mitochondrial control region segment from the Rocas Atoll courtship area (n = 30 males) and four feeding grounds (FGs) in Brazil (n = 397), and compared our findings to published data (nnesting = 1205; nfeeding = 1587). At Rocas Atoll, the first Atlantic courtship area sequenced to date, we found males were differentiated from local juveniles but not from nesting females. In combination with tag data, this indicates possible male philopatry. The most common haplotypes detected at the study sites were CMA-08 and CMA-05, and significant temporal variation was not revealed. Although feeding grounds were differentiated overall, intra-regional structure was less pronounced. Ascension was the primary natal source of the study FGs, with Surinam and Trindade as secondary sources. The study clarified the primary connectivity between Trindade and Brazil. Possible linkages to African populations were considered, but there was insufficient resolution to conclusively determine this connection. The distribution of FG haplotype lineages was nonrandom and indicative of regional clustering. The study investigated impacts of population size, geographic distance, ocean currents, and juvenile natal homing on connectivity, addressed calls for increased genetic sampling in the southwestern Atlantic, and provided data important for conservation of globally endangered green turtles.
KW - Chelonia mydas
KW - connectivity
KW - control region
KW - mixed stock analysis
KW - mtDNA
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U2 - 10.1093/jhered/ess068
DO - 10.1093/jhered/ess068
M3 - Article
C2 - 23045612
AN - SCOPUS:84870498291
SN - 0022-1503
VL - 103
SP - 792
EP - 805
JO - Journal of Heredity
JF - Journal of Heredity
IS - 6
ER -