A comparison of pigmentation features among North Atlantic killer whale (Orcinus orca) populations

Pirjo Mäkeläinen; Ruth Esteban; Andrew David Foote; Sanna Kuningas; Julius Nielsen; Filipa I. P. Samarra; Tiu Similä; C. F. van Geel; Gíslia A. Víkingsson

doi:10.1017/S0025315414000277

A comparison of pigmentation features among North Atlantic killer whale (Orcinus orca) populations

Pirjo Mäkeläinen, Ruth Esteban, Andrew David Foote, Sanna Kuningas, Julius Nielsen, Filipa I. P. Samarra, Tiu Similä, C. F. van Geel, Gíslia A. Víkingsson

2 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

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.

Original language	English
Journal	Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom
Volume	94
Issue number	6
Pages (from-to)	1335-1341
Number of pages	7
ISSN	0025-3154
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1017/S0025315414000277
Publication status	Published - Sept 2014

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Mäkeläinen, P., Esteban, R., Foote, A. D., Kuningas, S., Nielsen, J., Samarra, F. I. P., Similä, T., van Geel, C. F., & Víkingsson, G. A. (2014). A comparison of pigmentation features among North Atlantic killer whale (Orcinus orca) populations. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 94(6), 1335-1341. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0025315414000277

Mäkeläinen, P, Esteban, R, Foote, AD, Kuningas, S, Nielsen, J, Samarra, FIP, Similä, T, van Geel, CF & Víkingsson, GA 2014, 'A comparison of pigmentation features among North Atlantic killer whale (Orcinus orca) populations', Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, vol. 94, no. 6, pp. 1335-1341. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0025315414000277

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abstract = "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.",

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AU - Nielsen, Julius

AU - Samarra, Filipa I. P.

AU - Similä, Tiu

AU - van Geel, C. F.

AU - Víkingsson, Gíslia A.

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DO - 10.1017/S0025315414000277

M3 - Journal article

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JO - Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom

JF - Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom

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A comparison of pigmentation features among North Atlantic killer whale (Orcinus orca) populations

Abstract

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