Harbor porpoise losing its edge: Genetic time series suggests a rapid population decline in Iberian waters over the last 30 years.

ABSTRACT: Impact of climate change is expected to be especially noticeable at the edges of a species' distribution, where they meet suboptimal habitat conditions. In Mauritania and Iberia, two genetically differentiated populations of harbor porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) form an ecotype adapted to local upwelling conditions and distinct from other ecotypes further north on the NE Atlantic continental shelf and in the Black Sea. By analyzing the evolution of mitochondrial genetic variation in the Iberian population between two temporal cohorts (1990-2002 vs. 2012-2015), we report a substantial decrease in genetic diversity. Phylogenetic analyses including neighboring populations identified two porpoises in southern Iberia carrying a divergent haplotype closely related to those from the Maurita

SUBMITTER: Ben Chehida Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10714065 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature