Date of Award
2008
Document Type
Thesis
Publication Status
Version of Record
Submission Date
October 2026
Abstract
This study investigated a resident community of Atlantic spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis) on Little Bahama Bank (LBB) in the Bahamas utilizing a noninvasive molecular approach. Genetic template material was collected and extracted from fecal material of S. frontalis. Fine-scale population structure was found within LBB according to mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and microsatellites (Fst = 0.25317, P < 0.0001 and Fst = 0.04491, P < 0.0001, respectively). Three main social clusters (North, Central, South/Roam) exist on LBB and all clusters were found to be genetically distinct according to microsatellite analyses. Mitochondrial haplotypes revealed North and South/Roam were not differentiated, but Central was different from both. When separated by sex, males were less genetically structured than females. Males showed no evidence of structure according to Ost or Rst.
Extent
xiii, 127 p. : ill. (some col.).
Recommended Citation
Green, Michelle L., "Assessment of genetic population structure, promiscuity, and paternity in free-ranging Atlantic spotted dolphins, Stenella frontalis, in the Bahamas" (2008). Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009. 1419.
https://digitalcommons.fau.edu/etd_general_5/1419
Identifier
FADT58004
Comments
by Michelle Lynn Green.|Vita.|Thesis (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2008.|Includes bibliography.|Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, FL : 2008 Mode of access: World Wide Web.|by Michelle Lynn Green.