Gaspari Stefania, Azzellino Arianna, Airoldi Sabina, Hoelzel A Rus
School of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, University of Durham, South Road, Durham, DH1 3LE, UK.
Mol Ecol. 2007 Jul;16(14):2922-33. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-294X.2007.03295.x.
We investigated hierarchical patterns of genetic subdivision, and assessed kinship within and between social groups of striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba) in the Tyrrhenian Sea. A total of 165 samples were analysed at eight microsatellite DNA loci, including outgroup samples from the Adriatic, Scotland and Spain for population-level comparisons. We found population genetic structure within the Mediterranean basin, including small but significant differentiation between the Adriatic and Tyrrhenian Seas (FST=0.0047, P=0.008), and between putative 'inshore' and 'offshore' (FST=0.0217, P=0.005) populations in the Tyrrhenian Sea. Assessment of kinship within and among 12 association groups showed higher average kinship for females within than between groups, and smaller groups showed higher average kinship. Comparisons of relatedness for both sexes showed a significant difference between males and females, with females more likely to associate with adult kin. Together these data emphasize the importance of the social cohesion of kin in small groups to the structuring of striped dolphin populations in this environment.
我们研究了条纹海豚（Stenella coeruleoalba）在第勒尼安海社会群体内部和群体之间的遗传细分层次模式，并评估了它们的亲缘关系。在八个微卫星DNA位点对总共165个样本进行了分析，包括来自亚得里亚海、苏格兰和西班牙的外群样本用于种群水平的比较。我们在地中海盆地发现了种群遗传结构，包括亚得里亚海和第勒尼安海之间存在微小但显著的分化（FST = 0.0047，P = 0.008），以及在第勒尼安海假定的“近海”和“远海”种群之间（FST = 0.0217，P = 0.005）。对12个关联群体内部和之间的亲缘关系评估显示，群体内部雌性的平均亲缘关系高于群体之间，并且较小的群体显示出更高的平均亲缘关系。对两性亲缘关系的比较显示，雄性和雌性之间存在显著差异，雌性更有可能与成年亲属关联。这些数据共同强调了小群体中亲属的社会凝聚力对这种环境下条纹海豚种群结构的重要性。
