Micro- and macrogeographic genetic differentiation in a highly mobile species, the Galápagos sea lion (Zalophus californianus wollebaek)

传统上，种群间的遗传分化与地理障碍造成的分离模式密切相关。因此，遗传分化似乎更有可能发生在扩散能力有限的种群中。然而，越来越多的证据表明，高度流动性的物种表现出意想不到的遗传结构，从一路的微小差异到物种形成，甚至在繁殖种群相互关联良好的环境中也是如此。因此，必须援引地理隔离或历史事件以外的机制来理解基因流动的基本模式。在社会动物中，行为过程似乎在较小和较大的地理尺度上对遗传特性产生重大影响，并且在创造局部适应方面可能与基因流动和空间分离一样相关。我计划使用加拉帕戈斯海狮，一种殖民地繁殖的哺乳动物，来仔细研究繁殖群体内局部规模的基因流动行为的重要性，以及整个加拉帕戈斯群岛殖民地之间更大规模的行为的重要性。我将使用来自核和线粒体基因组的遗传标记，将一项正在进行的物种社会结构研究的数据与遗传分化模式联系起来。我的目的是揭示，S系统的社会结构是否反映了遗传分化模式，这些行为受到地点忠诚、种类交配、对群体内特定社会社区的依恋和母系家乡继承等行为的影响。

Traditionally, genetic differentiation among populations has been intimately associated with separation patterns imposed by geographical barriers. Genetic differentiation, therefore, seemed more likely to occur in populations with limited dispersal ability. There is, however, growing evidence that highly mobile species exhibit unexpected genetic structures ranging from small differences all the way to speciation even in environments, where breeding populations are well interconnected. Thus, mechanisms other than geographic isolation or historical events separating populations must be invoked to understand the underlying patterns of gene flow. In social animals behavioural processes seem to produce significant effects on genetic properties on small and larger geographic scales and could be as relevant to gene flow as spatial separation in creating local adaptation. I plan to use the Galapagos sea lion, a colonial breeding mammal, to scrutinize the importance of behaviour on gene flow on both the local scale within a breeding colony as well as on a larger scale among colonies throughout the entire Galapagos archipelago. I will relate data of an ongoing study on the species social structure to patterns of genetic differentiation using genetic markers from the nuclear and mitochondrial genome. My aim is to disclose, whether the system s social structure as influenced by behaviours such as site fidelity, assortative mating, attachment to a specific social community within a colony, and matrilineai home range inheritance, is mirrored by genetic divergence patterns.