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Journal of Heredity Advance Access originally published online on February 4, 2008
Journal of Heredity 2008 99(2):215-220; doi:10.1093/jhered/esm120
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© The American Genetic Association. 2008. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org.

Brief Communications

Genetic Diversity and Origin of Leatherback Turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) from the Brazilian Coast

Sarah M. Vargas, Flávia C. F. Araújo, Danielle S. Monteiro, Sérgio C. Estima, Antônio P. Almeida, Luciano S. Soares, and Fabrício R. Santos

From the Laboratório de Biodiversidade e Evolução Molecular, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Caixa Postal 486, Belo Horizonte, MG, 31270-901, Brazil (Vargas, Araújo, and Santos); the Núcleo de Educação e Monitoramento Ambiental, NEMA, Rua Maria Araújo, 450, Rio Grande, RS, 96207-480, Brazil (Monteiro and Estima); the Projeto Tamar-ICMBio, Reserva Biológica de Comboios s/n, Regência, Caixa Postal 105, Linhares, ES, 29900-970, Brazil (Almeida); and the Fundação Pró-Tamar, Caixa Postal 2219, Salvador, BA, 41950-970, Brazil (Soares)

Address correspondence to F. R. Santos at the address above, or e-mail: fsantos{at}icb.ufmg.br.

The leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) population that nests in Brazil is restricted to a few individuals, but high densities of pelagic individuals are observed along the southern and southeastern Brazilian coast. We investigated the diversity of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region in order to understand the relationship between nesting and pelagic leatherbacks from Brazil and elsewhere. High-quality 711-bp sequences were generated, analyzed, and compared with published data from worldwide populations. We detected the presence of shared haplotypes between nesting and pelagic aggregates from Brazil, as well as haplotypes shared with other nesting areas from the Atlantic and Pacific. Furthermore, the use of longer control region sequences allowed the subdivision of the common Atlantic haplotype A into 3 different haplotypes (A1, A3, and A4), thus improving the resolution of mtDNA-based leatherback phylogeography. The use of longer sequences partially supported a closer association between nesting and pelagic individuals from Brazil and pointed to a complex origin for the pelagic individuals in the Brazilian coast.

Corresponding Editor: Hector Seuanez

Received June 5, 2007
Accepted December 13, 2007


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