Genetic diversity of leopard seal Hydrurga leptonyx at Danco Coast, Antarctic peninsula.

HERNANDEZ ARDILA, LAURA VALENTINA; BARRAGÁN-BARRERA, D.C.; NEGRETE JAVIER; RIET SAPRIZA F.G.; POLJAK SEBASTIAN; CABLLERO SUSANA

Barcelona

Conferencia; XXXIII Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals; 2019

Society for marine mammalogy

The Leopard seal, Hydrurga leptonyx, has a wide distribution throughout the Antarctic circumpolar region. They have solitary habits, haul out on pack ice for long period, and individuals tend to congregate in the same area of the ice for reproduction. The leopard seal shows site fidelity to reproductive sites, which may imply restricted gene flow between groups. In order to conduct the first assessment of genetic diversity of leopard seals in waters around Danco Coast, we amplified mitochondrial DNA Control Region (mtDNA-CR, 423 bp) from DNA extracted from 13 blood samples collected in Primavera base during 2011-2012 austral summer. Our results show high haplotype diversity, represented in unique haplotype for each sample, and only haplotype shared between two samples. Network analyses confirm high diversity with some divergent haplotypes, which suggest that individuals sampled belong to one population. Due to ice dynamic as a consequence of climate change, many individuals are shifting their diet habits, showing dietary specializations which may have the potential to promote genetic differentiation in the long-term. Given the lack of leopard seals genetic studies this hypothesis cannot be tested. Research studies using mitochondrial and nuclear markers are needed to assess the genetic