Social, ecological and genetic structures of bottlenose dolphins, Tursiops truncatus, in the Normano-Breton gulf and in the North-East Atlantic

TL;DRAbstract

Complex interactions between environmental factors and behavioral traits may shape the fine and large scale structuring patterns of animal species. The objectives of this dissertation were to describe and understand i) the fine-scale social, ecological and genetic structures of bottlenose dolphins in the Normano-Breton (NB) gulf and ii) the population structure of the species at the scale of the North-East Atlantic (NEA) by combining social, genetic, stable isotope and morphometric approaches. Coastal bottlenose dolphins in the NB gulf form a single genetic population subdivided in three social and ecological clusters. Ecology but not kinship may influence association patterns. In the NEA, bottlenose dolphin genetic structure is hierarchical. They form two ecotypes, i.e. coastal and pelagic, each of them being further divided in two populations. This genetic structure was likely triggered by past changes in the environment (i.e. deglaciation) that created ecological opportunities for d

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