Genetic population structure of harbour seals in the United Kingdom and neighbouring waters

TitleGenetic population structure of harbour seals in the United Kingdom and neighbouring waters
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2017
AuthorsOlsen, MTange, Islas, V, Graves, JA, Onoufriou, A, Vincent, C, Brasseur, S, Frie, AKirstine, Hall, AJ
JournalAquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems
Volume27
Issue4
Pagination839 - 845
Date Published2017/08/01
ISBN Number1052-7613
Keywordscoastal, genetics, mammal, microsatellite loci, Phoca vitulina, Seal Management Units
Abstract

In the United Kingdom (UK), several harbour seal (Phoca vitulina) populations have been declining over the past decade. In order to understand the effect of these changes in abundance, this study seeks to determine the population structure of harbour seals in the UK, and in Scotland in particular, on a wider and finer spatial scale than has previously been reported.

Harbour seals were genotyped from 18 different localities throughout the UK and neighbouring localities in mainland Europe, at 12 microsatellite loci. Results from Bayesian and frequency based tests of population structure suggested an initial structural division into two main groups consisting of localities in northern UK and southern UK–mainland Europe, respectively.

These two clusters were further divided into four geographically distinct genetic clusters.

An overall agreement between the genetic results and the existing management areas for UK harbour seals was observed, but it is also clear that an adaptive management approach should be adopted, in which the delineation of the current management areas is maintained until further genetic and ecological information has been accumulated and analysed.

URLhttps://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/aqc.2760
DOI10.1002/aqc.2760
Short TitleAquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems