TY - JOUR
T1 - A comparison of pigmentation features among North Atlantic killer whale (Orcinus orca) populations
AU - Mäkeläinen, Pirjo
AU - Esteban, Ruth
AU - Foote, Andrew D.
AU - Kuningas, Sanna
AU - Nielsen, Julius
AU - Samarra, Filipa I.p.
AU - Similä, Tiu
AU - Van Geel, Nienke C.f.
AU - Víkingsson, Gíslia A.
N1 - © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2014
Author not affiliated to SAMS at the time of publication.
PY - 2014/4/29
Y1 - 2014/4/29
N2 - Here we present a comparison of saddle and eye patch patterns of killer whales from Norwegian, Icelandic, British, Spanishand Greenlandic waters. We found only a small amount of variation in saddle patch shapes, which may reflect a recent phylo-genetic divergence from the most recent common ancestor. Eye patch shapes were more variable than saddle patches in smalldetails. Most individuals had eye patches with parallel orientation, with the exception of a small group of killer whales fromthe Hebrides, which, as previously reported, had sloping eye patches that sloped downward at the posterior end. This differ-entiation in pigmentation patterns of the Hebridean killer whales from neighbouring populations could reflect one or moreof several evolutionary processes, including a deeper phylogenetic divergence, low gene flow with other local populationsand drift.
AB - Here we present a comparison of saddle and eye patch patterns of killer whales from Norwegian, Icelandic, British, Spanishand Greenlandic waters. We found only a small amount of variation in saddle patch shapes, which may reflect a recent phylo-genetic divergence from the most recent common ancestor. Eye patch shapes were more variable than saddle patches in smalldetails. Most individuals had eye patches with parallel orientation, with the exception of a small group of killer whales fromthe Hebrides, which, as previously reported, had sloping eye patches that sloped downward at the posterior end. This differ-entiation in pigmentation patterns of the Hebridean killer whales from neighbouring populations could reflect one or moreof several evolutionary processes, including a deeper phylogenetic divergence, low gene flow with other local populationsand drift.
KW - Killer whale
KW - Orcinus orca
KW - Colour pattern
KW - Saddle patch
KW - Eye patch orientation
KW - Genetic drift
U2 - 10.1017/S0025315414000277
DO - 10.1017/S0025315414000277
M3 - Article
SN - 0025-3154
VL - 94
SP - 1335
EP - 1341
JO - Journal Of The Marine Biological Association Of The United Kingdom
JF - Journal Of The Marine Biological Association Of The United Kingdom
IS - 6
ER -