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One Species or Two? Vicariance, Lineage Divergence and Low mtDNA Diversity in Geographically Isolated Populations of South Asian River Dolphin

Journal of Mammalian Evolution volume 22, pages 111–120 (2015)Cite this article

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Abstract

Despite their endangered status, the taxonomic relationship between the two geographically isolated South Asian river dolphin populations has never been comprehensively assessed and remains contentious. Here we present the first dedicated evaluation of the molecular phylogenetic relationship between the Indus (Platanista gangetica minor) and Ganges (Platanista gangetica gangetica) River dolphins using mitochondrial DNA from the control region and cytochrome b, extracted from museum specimens. The 458 bp partial control region sequences from 26 Indus River dolphin samples exhibited no variation. Only six haplotypes were identified in the 31 (18 Indus; 13 Ganges) complete (856 bp) control region sequences obtained, none were shared between subspecies, and there were five fixed differences between them. Similarly low genetic diversity was found in a 541 bp section of the cytochrome b gene (n = 29). The lack of shared haplotypes and fixed differences resulted in Φ ST for the partial control region sequences of 0.932 (p < 0.0001) and FST of 0.843 (p < 0.0001), indicating the long-term absence of gene flow and clear genetic differentiation between the two geographically isolated populations. An externally calibrated molecular clock estimated that Indus and Ganges dolphins diverged around 550,000 years ago (95 % posterior probability 0.13–1.05 million years ago), possibly when dolphins from the Ganges dispersed into the Indus during drainage capture.

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Acknowledgments

For facilitating access to museum specimens we would like to thank Doris Moerike: Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Stuttgart, Richard Sabin: British Museum of Natural History, Martin Milner: Bell-Pettigrew Museum, University of St. Andrews, Mathew Lowe and Robert Asher: Cambridge University Museum of Zoology, Andrew Kitchener and Jerry Herman: National Museums of Scotland, Edinburgh, Uzma Khan: WWF-Pakistan, Kelly Robertson: National Marine Fisheries Service USA, Tom Jefferson and Bill Perrin. We thank Tanya Sneddon for lab assistance at St Andrews, and Darren Parker for guidance on MrBayes. The work was funded by the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society and the US Marine Mammal Commission. We thank Simon Northridge, Phil Hammond, and Peter Clift for reviewing earlier versions of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews, Fife,, KY16 8LB, UK

    G. T. Braulik, V. Odon, V. Islas-Villanueva & J. A. Graves

  2. Pakistan Wetlands Programme/WWF-Pakistan, House 62, Street 5, Sector F10/1, Islamabad, Pakistan

    G. T. Braulik

  3. School of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Durham University, Durham, DH1 3LE, UK

    R. Barnett & A. R. Hoelzel

  4. Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnologia, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM), Circuito exterior s/n, Ciudad Universitaria, 04510, México, D.F., México

    V. Islas-Villanueva

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  1. G. T. Braulik
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Correspondence to G. T. Braulik.

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Braulik, G.T., Barnett, R., Odon, V. et al. One Species or Two? Vicariance, Lineage Divergence and Low mtDNA Diversity in Geographically Isolated Populations of South Asian River Dolphin. J Mammal Evol 22, 111–120 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10914-014-9265-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10914-014-9265-6

Keywords

  • Molecular phylogeny
  • Taxonomy
  • Platanista gangetica
  • Molecular diversity
  • Systematics
  • River capture