title: Mixed-stock analysis in green turtles Chelonia mydas: mtDNA decipher current connections among west Atlantic populations.
abstract: The green turtle Chelonia mydas undertakes wide-ranging migrations between feeding and nesting sites, resulting in mixing and isolation of genetic stocks. We used mtDNA control region to characterize the genetic composition, population structure, and natal origins of C. mydas in the West Atlantic Ocean, at one feeding ground (State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), and three Caribbean nesting grounds (French Guiana, Guadeloupe, and Suriname). The feeding ground presented considerable frequency of common haplotypes from the South Atlantic, whereas the nesting sites presented a major contribution of the most common haplotype from the Caribbean. MSA revealed multiple origins of individuals at the feeding ground, notably from Ascension Island, Guinea Bissau, and French Guiana. This study enables a better understanding of the dispersion patterns and highlights the importance of connecting both nesting and feeding areas. Effective conservation initiatives need to encompass these ecologically and geographically distinct sites as well as those corridors connecting them.
authors.affiliation: a Departamento De Genética E Biologia Evolutiva , Instituto De Biociências, Universidade De São Paulo , São Paulo , SP , Brazil.
authors.forename: Juliana
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Costa Jordao
authors.affiliation: b Instituto De Pesca-APTA-SAA/SP , Cananéia , SP , Brazil.
authors.forename: Ana Cristina Vigliar
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Bondioli
authors.affiliation: a Departamento De Genética E Biologia Evolutiva , Instituto De Biociências, Universidade De São Paulo , São Paulo , SP , Brazil.
authors.forename: Lurdes Foresti de
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Almeida-Toledo
authors.affiliation: c WWF Suriname Regional Office , Paramaribo , Suriname.
authors.forename: Karin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bilo
authors.affiliation: d Office National De La Chasse Et De La Faune Sauvage, Cellule Technique , Kourou , French Guiana.
authors.forename: Rachel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Berzins
authors.affiliation: e Centre National De La Recherche Scientifique, Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien, UMR 7178 , Strasbourg , France.
authors.forename: Yvon
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Le Maho
authors.affiliation: e Centre National De La Recherche Scientifique, Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien, UMR 7178 , Strasbourg , France.
authors.forename: Damien
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Chevallier
authors.affiliation: f Institut Pasteur De La Guyane , Cayenne , French Guiana.|g Kwata NGO , Cayenne , French Guiana.
authors.forename: Benoit
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: de Thoisy
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001267:Atlantic Ocean; D001938:Brazil; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial; D005260:Female; D051456:Gene Flow; D014644:Genetic Variation; D005828:Genetics, Population; D054629:Genome, Mitochondrial; D006239:Haplotypes; D058974:Phylogeography; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D014426:Turtles / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial
keywords: Chelonia; MSA; control region; feeding areas; gene flows; nesting areas