Isolation and characterization of novel microsatellite loci for the short-beaked common dolphin (Delphinus delphis) and cross-amplification in other cetacean species

Seven tetranucleotide and three dinucleotide microsatellite loci were isolated from the short-beaked common dolphin (Delphinus delphis). Number of alleles and observed heterozygosity ranged from three to twelve (mean 8.4) and from 0.087 to 0.978 (mean 0.741), respectively. All loci were tested in four other odontocete species and showed polymorphisms in most locus-species combinations. This panel of nuclear markers will be useful for the investigation of population ecology and social interactions in common dolphins and other cetacean species.