RESUMEN
The Guadalupe fur seal (Arctocephalus townsendi) population underwent one or two severe bottlenecks due to commercial sealing in the late 19th century. Since then the protected population has been growing steadily around their only rookery, Isla de Guadalupe, Mexico. We probed both nuclear and mitochondrial genomes using multilocus nuclear DNA profiling and mitochondrial DNA sequencing to estimate the level of genetic variability of the present population. Unlike other pinniped populations that have experienced similar historical bottlenecks, such as Hawaiian monk seals and northern elephant seals, high levels of genetic variability were found.
Asunto(s)
Lobos Marinos/genética , Variación Genética , Animales , Dermatoglifia del ADN , Femenino , Lobos Marinos/clasificación , Masculino , Análisis de Secuencia de ADNRESUMEN
Threat vocalizations of male elephant seals Mirounga angustirostris vary among four populations on islands off the coast of California and Baja California, Mexico. Males at San Nicolas Island in Southern California emit sound pulses at more than double the rate of males at Auo Nuevo Island, 528 kilometers north. Mean pulse rates at San Miguel Island and Isla de Guadalupe (408 and 944 kilometers south of Auo Nuevo, respectively) are intermediate to these two. Pulse rate is homogeneous within each population and consistent in the same individual. Other properties of the calls which separate populations are pulse duration and embellishment of the initial or terminal pulse in a series. These geographical differences in vocal behavior resemble local dialects in birds and humans.