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Population structure of Hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) nesting along the Persian Gulf coastline revealed by inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers

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Abstract

This study focuses on describing and assessing the genetic structure and diversity among populations, as well as constructing a dendrogram of genetic similarity of the hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) in four nesting habitats along the Persian Gulf: Kharkoo, Nakhiloo, Shidvar, and Ommolgorm. For this purpose, we collected 14 samples of dead hawksbill turtle hatchlings from these locations and utilized six ISSR markers for genetic analysis. Results showed that 71% of the observed polymorphism was related to within-population diversity, while 29% was linked to among-population diversity. The percentage of polymorphism at the loci (AG)8 C, (AG)8G, (GA)8AC, (GA)8AG, (GACA)4, and (GTG)5GC for the Kharkoo, Nakhiloo, Ommolgorm, and Shidvar nasting group was 0%, 4.35%, 8.7%, and 30.43%, respectively. In the resulting dendrogram of genetic similarity, individuals from each nesting group were placed on separate branches, with different nesting groups situated close to or far from each other based on genetic similarity. According to population structure analysis, the Kharkoo and Shidvar nesting groups formed one subpopulation, whereas the Nakhiloo and Ommolgorm populations constituted separate groups. Hawksbill turtles are typically observed along these shores for 3 to 4 months during the nesting season, after which they emigrate to feeding areas far from the nesting habitats. The natal homing hypothesis states that female hawksbill turtles return to the nesting habitat where they were born, often years later. This hypothesis supports the genetic findings obtained from our study samples.Therefore, each of these habitats is critically important for conservation, and any adverse conditions affecting them could lead to the loss of unique genetic compositions and bring the population of this species one step closer to extinction.

Data availability

All data generated and analyzed during this study, including ISSR band scoring matrices and gel images, are provided in the Supplementary Material (Supplementary Figures S1–S16; Supplementary Tables S1–S6) associated with this article; all ISSR primers used were previously published.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank the local communities of Dayer City, Aslouyeh Port, and Kharg Island (Bushehr Province) for their assistance in coastal monitoring. We are especially grateful to DOE Bushehr for their invaluable collaboration in sample collection, particularly Mr. Hossein Jafari, Amin Tolab, Mostafa Moazeni, Abdolrahman Moradzadeh, Mahdi Iranmanesh, and Amirmozafar Hoseini.

Funding

This work was sponsored by Persian Gulf Mobin Energy Company (Grant Nos. 99/871 and 1403/1224) and Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Kerman, Iran

    Mohammadali Farahvashi & Mohammadreza Mohammadabadi

  2. Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Kerman, Iran

    Majid Askari-Hesni

  3. Animal Science Research Department, Fars Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Shiraz, Iran

    Zeynab Amiri Ghanatsaman & Hojjat Asadollahpoor Nanaee

Authors

  1. Mohammadali Farahvashi
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  2. Mohammadreza Mohammadabadi
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Contributions

Conceptualization: M.M. and M.A.H.; Writing original draft preparation: M.F., Z.A., and H.A.N.; Visualization: M.M. and M.A.H.; Software: M.F., Z.A., and H.A.N.; Data curation: M.F., Z.A., and H.A.N.; Resources: M.M. and M.A.H.All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Mohammadreza Mohammadabadi.

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Farahvashi, M., Mohammadabadi, M., Askari-Hesni, M. et al. Population structure of Hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) nesting along the Persian Gulf coastline revealed by inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers.
Sci Rep (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-34749-y

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