A Phylogenetic Perspective on the Evolution of Reproductive Behavior in Pagophilic Seals of the Northwest Atlantic as Indicated by Mitochondrial DNA Sequences

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Abstract
The ice-breeding (pagophilic) habits and relatively short lactation periods of several species of “true” seals (Phocidae) of the Northwest Atlantic, including the harp seal (Pagophilus), bearded seal (Erignathus), and hooded seal (Cystophora), usually are assumed to have evolved in parallel. Current taxonomy regards Pagophilus and ringed seals (Pusa) along with harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) as subgenera of Phoca, unites Phoca (sensu lato) together with gray seals (Halichoerus) and Erignathus in the subfamily Phocinae, and places Cystophora with elephant seals (Mirounga) in a separate subfamily, Cystophorinae. Cladistic analysis of variation in the DNA sequence of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene identifies three clades among northern seals: Phoca-Pusa-Halichoerus, Cystophora-Pagophilus, and Erignathus. Erignathus is the sister group to the other species examined. Each clade may be regarded as a tribe of the subfamily Phocinae (the Phocini, Cystophorini, and Erignathini, respectively). The phylogeny suggests that the ice-breeding habit and associated brief lactation are ancestral characters for the Phocinae and that instances of fast-ice or terrestrial breeding are convergences on the ancestral condition in other phocid subfamilies.

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