In this study, microsatellite and mtDNA markers were successfully used to study the population structure of <i>C. carcharias. </i>Development of new microsatellite loci and the largest sample panel so far assembled for population genetic analyses has given the highest resolution of white shark population structure to-date. Concordance of direct (photographic identification) and indirect (molecular tools) methods of individual identification was assessed to validate proposed white shark local movements. The utility of DNA from alternative sources to standard muscle biopsies was tested, with encouraging results obtained from attempts to extract sufficient genomic DNA from white shark teeth. Female mating strategies were investigated and set in the context of a global phylogeographic study of the white shark, utilizing 304 individuals caught worldwide. For the first time female promiscuity was documented in two species of Lamniformes, conforming to the typical mating pattern of elasmobranches studied to date. Finally, the presence of two matrilineal clades in the Atlantic-western Indian and Pacific oceans was revealed, with a deeper substructure within oceans detected by nuclear and mtDNA markers, supporting the hypothesis of female philopatry with gene flow mediated by both sexes. These findings are essential to the management of white shark populations, a species that has already been classified as ‘Vulnerable’ by the IUCN.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:499754 |
| Date | January 2008 |
| Creators | Gubili, Chryssoula |
| Publisher | University of Aberdeen |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://digitool.abdn.ac.uk:80/webclient/DeliveryManager?pid=26045 |
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