10.5061/DRYAD.8444PN0
Venables, Stephanie
University of Western Australia
Marshall, Andrea
Marine Megafauna Foundation
Germanov, Elitza
Murdoch University
Perryman, Robert
Macquarie University
Tapilatu, Ricardo
Universitas Yapis Papua
Hendrawan, I. Gede
Udayana University
Flam, Anna
University of Western Australia
van Keulen, Mike
Murdoch University
Tomkins, Joseph
University of Western Australia
Kennington, Jason
University of Western Australia
Data from: It’s not all black and white: investigating colour polymorphism
in manta rays across Indo-Pacific populations
Dryad
dataset
2019
Melanism
mobula birostris
colour polymorphism
manta ray
mobula birostris
2019-09-25T00:00:00Z
2019-09-25T00:00:00Z
en
https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2019.1879
202305 bytes
5
CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication
Intraspecific colour polymorphisms have been the focus of numerous
studies, yet processes affecting melanism in the marine environment remain
poorly understood. Arguably the most prominent example of melanism in
marine species occurs in manta rays (Mobula birostris and M. alfredi).
Here, we use photo identification catalogues to document the frequency
variation of melanism across Indo-Pacific manta ray populations and test
for evidence of selection by predation acting on colour morph variants. We
use mark-recapture modeling to compare colour morph survivorship in three
M. alfredi populations and assess the relationship between frequency
variation and geographical distance. While large differences in melanism
frequencies existed among populations of both species (0-40%), apparent
survival estimates revealed no difference in survivorship between morphs.
We found a significant association between phenotypic and geographical
distance in M. birostris, but not in M. alfredi. Our results suggest
melanism is not under selection by predation in the tested M. alfredi
populations, and that frequency differences across populations of both
species are a consequence of neutral genetic processes. As colour
polymorphisms are often subjected to complex selection mechanisms, our
findings only begin to elucidate the underlying evolutionary processes
responsible for the maintenance and frequency variation of melanism in
manta ray populations.
Mark.KomodoNPcsv file with .inp formatted sightings data for Program MARK
- Komodo, IndonesiaMark.NusaPenidacsv file with .inp formatted sightings
data for Program MARK - Nusa Penida, IndonesiaMark.RajaAmpatcsv file with
.inp formatted sightings data for Program MARK - Raja Ampat, West Papua,
IndonesiaMark.Mozambiquecsv file with .inp formatted sightings data for
Program MARK - Praia do Tofo, MozambiqueventralcolourationQuantification
of ventral pigmentation data - M. alfredi and M. birostris