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 - Publisher Copyright:
© Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2014.
PY - 2014/2/10
Y1 - 2014/2/10
N2 - Here we present a comparison of saddle and eye patch patterns of killer whales from Norwegian, Icelandic, British, Spanish and Greenlandic waters. We found only a small amount of variation in saddle patch shapes, which may reflect a recent phylogenetic divergence from the most recent common ancestor. Eye patch shapes were more variable than saddle patches in small details. Most individuals had eye patches with parallel orientation, with the exception of a small group of killer whales from the Hebrides, which, as previously reported, had sloping eye patches that sloped downward at the posterior end. This differentiation in pigmentation patterns of the Hebridean killer whales from neighbouring populations could reflect one or more of several evolutionary processes, including a deeper phylogenetic divergence, low gene flow with other local populations and drift.
AB - Here we present a comparison of saddle and eye patch patterns of killer whales from Norwegian, Icelandic, British, Spanish and Greenlandic waters. We found only a small amount of variation in saddle patch shapes, which may reflect a recent phylogenetic divergence from the most recent common ancestor. Eye patch shapes were more variable than saddle patches in small details. Most individuals had eye patches with parallel orientation, with the exception of a small group of killer whales from the Hebrides, which, as previously reported, had sloping eye patches that sloped downward at the posterior end. This differentiation in pigmentation patterns of the Hebridean killer whales from neighbouring populations could reflect one or more of several evolutionary processes, including a deeper phylogenetic divergence, low gene flow with other local populations and drift.
KW - colour pattern
KW - eye patch orientation
KW - genetic drift
KW - killer whale
KW - Orcinus orca
KW - saddle patch
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84938083619&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1017/S0025315414000277
DO - 10.1017/S0025315414000277
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84938083619
SN - 0025-3154
VL - 754
JO - Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom
JF - Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom
ER -