Genetics, Vol. 149, 1945-1957, August 1998, Copyright © 1998

Molecular Population Genetics of the Southern Elephant Seal Mirounga leonina

Robert W. Sladea,b, Craig Moritza, A. Rus Hoelzelc, and Harry R. Burtond
a Department of Zoology, University of Queensland, 4072, Australia,
b Centre for Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Queensland, 4072, Australia,
c National Cancer Institute, Frederick, Maryland 21702
d Australian Antarctic Division, Kingston, Tasmania, 7002, Australia

Corresponding author: Robert W. Slade, Queensland Institute of Medical Research, Post Office, Royal Brisbane Hospital, Queensland 4029, Australia., roberts{at}qimr.edu.au (E-mail).

Communicating editor: R. R. HUDSON

Southern elephant seals breed on sub-Antarctic islands and have a circumpolar distribution. We assayed mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and nuclear DNA (nDNA) variation in the three main populations in the south Atlantic, south Indian, and south Pacific oceans, and a smaller continental population in South America. Population structure of mtDNA was strong and not consistent with isolation by distance. The nDNA loci, although less informative, were consistent with the mtDNA results. Geographic structure appears to be dominated by historical processes, not contemporary gene flow. Uncorrected levels of nucleotide diversity for mtDNA control region I (2.86%) and nDNA (0.09%) were similar to those in humans and mice. Mutation rates for control region I (75 x 10-9 substitutions per site per year) and nDNA (1.23 x 10-9) were similar to those in other mammals. Female effective population size and total effective population size were roughly equal at ~4 x 104, indicating a twofold greater rate of drift for mtDNA. Effective breeding sex ratio of four to five females per male was estimated from nucleotide diversity and mutation rates for mtDNA and nDNA, and was much less than behavioral observations would suggest. There was no evidence for selection at any of the assayed loci.




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