Dear MARMAM community,
My co-authors and I are pleased to share the following publication in Molecular Ecology on population structure of bottlenose dolphin,
Tursiops truncatus, across the Mediterranean and eastern Atlantic:
Moore, D.M., Moura, A.E., Natoli, A., Papale, E., Cunningham, E.G., Silva, M.A., Genov, T., Gaspari, S., Buscaino, G., Berggren, P. and Gröcke, D.R., 2025. Population Genomics and the Environmental Drivers of Population Structure in a Cosmopolitan Marine Predator,
Tursiops truncatus. Molecular Ecology, p.e70182.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/mec.70182
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.
If you would like any additional information then please do not hesitate to send me an email at d.moore4@exeter.ac.uk.
All the best,
Daniel