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Molecular evidence reveals the distinctiveness of Indo-Pacific finless porpoises (Neophocaena phocaenoides) in the Pearl River Estuary and insights into genus Neophocaena’s origin

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Abstract

Much of the knowledge about the wide-ranging finless porpoise species (Neophocaena phocaenoides) remains limited, as well as its phylogenetic relationship with another taxa (N. asiaeorientalis) in genus Neophocaena. Using 11 microsatellite loci, we first investigated population differentiation of N. phocaenoides within the Pearl River Estuary (PRE). We then used mtDNA control region (CR) and cytochrome b (cyt b) sequences from the PRE population (75) as well as those from other geographic populations to reveal the divergence level and phylogeny of the PRE N. phocaenoides. Pairwise F ST analysis with mtDNA CR sequences determined that the PRE population was highly differentiated from other putative populations (with the closest population 400-km away in the Taiwan Strait) (F ST = 0.388–0.764, p < 0.01). The level of genetic divergence between the PRE and its conspecific population was as high as comparisons between the two subspecies under N. asiaeorientalis (F ST = 0.361, p < 0.01). Our results also revealed contrasting demographic histories between the PRE and the other geographic finless porpoise populations (the Taiwan Strait population, the southern and northern Yellow Sea population and the middle Yangtze River population), which suggested stability in the warmer waters of the Indo-Pacific and expansions in the colder waters of the North Pacific. Phylogenetic trees created using cyt b data indicated that some haplotypes exclusive to the PRE population were basal to the rest of the genus. Based on these results, we argue that the genus Neophocaena originated in tropical waters (because the PRE is the most southern location sampled, i.e., the closest location to tropical waters).

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Acknowledgments

The research was supported by the Ocean Park Conservation Foundation, Hong Kong, the Australia and New Zealand Bank, the National Natural Science Foundation of China (40976082 and 41276147), and the National Key Technology R and D Program (Grant No. 2011BAG07B05-3). We would like to thank OPCFHK for helpful discussions and sample collection. Thanks are also given to those who contributed samples or helped in sample collection, including Mr. Jialin Chen, Mr. Xi Chen and Mr. Yingku Wang.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Marine Resources and Coastal Engineering, School of Marine Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510275, People’s Republic of China

    Kuntong Jia, Wenzhi Lin, Duan Gui & Yuping Wu

  2. Guangdong Pearl River Estuary Chinese White Dolphin National Nature Reserve, Zhuhai, 519000, People’s Republic of China

    Wenzhi Lin

  3. The Swire Institute of Marine Science, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Cape d’Aguilar, Shek O, Hong Kong

    Leszek Karczmarski

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  1. Kuntong Jia
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  2. Wenzhi Lin
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  3. Duan Gui
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  4. Leszek Karczmarski
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  5. Yuping Wu
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Leszek Karczmarski or Yuping Wu.

Additional information

Communicated by M. I. Taylor.

Kuntong Jia and Duan Gui have contributed equally to this work.

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Jia, K., Lin, W., Gui, D. et al. Molecular evidence reveals the distinctiveness of Indo-Pacific finless porpoises (Neophocaena phocaenoides) in the Pearl River Estuary and insights into genus Neophocaena’s origin. Mar Biol 161, 1919–1930 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-014-2474-y

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