Pieces in a global puzzle: Population genetics at two whale shark aggregations in the western Indian Ocean.

ABSTRACT: The whale shark Rhincodon typus is found throughout the world's tropical and warm-temperate ocean basins. Despite their broad physical distribution, research on the species has been concentrated at a few aggregation sites. Comparing DNA sequences from sharks at different sites can provide a demographically neutral understanding of the whale shark's global ecology. Here, we created genetic profiles for 84 whale sharks from the Saudi Arabian Red Sea and 72 individuals from the coast of Tanzania using a combination of microsatellite and mitochondrial sequences. These two sites, separated by approximately 4500 km (shortest over-water distance), exhibit markedly different population demographics and behavioral ecologies. Eleven microsatellite DNA markers revealed that the two aggregation

SUBMITTER: Hardenstine RS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8796955 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature