Population structure of the Atlantic spotted dolphin (Stenella frontalis) inferred through ecological markers Paula Me ´ndez-Fernandez . Satie Taniguchi . Marcos C. O. Santos . Irma Casca ˜o . Sophie Que ´rouil . Vidal Martı ´n . Marisa Tejedor . Manuel Carrillo . Caroline Rinaldi . Renato Rinaldi . Dalia C. Barraga ´n-Barrera . Nohelia Farı ´as-Curtidor . Susana Caballero . Rosalinda C. Montone Received: 11 February 2019 / Accepted: 26 August 2019 Ó Springer Nature B.V. 2019 Abstract Population structure studies play an increasingly integral role in conservation and man- agement of marine mammal species. Genetic markers are commonly used; however, ecological markers (i.e. chemical compounds) are a fairly recent and useful tool to investigate ecological management units. The objective of this study is to investigate the population structure of the Atlantic spotted dolphin (Stenella frontalis) within its distribution in the Atlantic Ocean using data from stable isotopes of d 13 C and d 15 N and persistent organic pollutants as ecological markers. Based on previous studies that addressed distribution, morphometric analyses and molecular and ecological markers, we hypothesize that there are several eco- logical management units within the Atlantic Ocean. Our results confirmed population differentiation pre- viously detected using genetic markers. Additionally, dolphins from the south-eastern coast of Brazil do not show complete ecological segregation from the Caribbean ones, while molecular analyses suggested genetic differentiation between the two regions. In the light of these results, we propose that at least two ecological management units should be considered, east and west of the Atlantic Ocean; however, the presence of one or two management units along the Handling Editor: Telesphore Sime-Ngando Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s10452-019-09722-3) con- tains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. P. Me ´ndez-Fernandez (&) Á S. Taniguchi Á R. C. Montone Laborato ´rio de Quı ´mica Orga ˆnica Marinha, Instituto Oceanogra ´fico, Universidade de Sa ˜o Paulo, Sa ˜o Paulo, SP 05508-120, Brazil e-mail: paula.mendez_fernandez@univ-lr.fr; paula.mendez_fernandez@outlook.com P. Me ´ndez-Fernandez Observatoire PELAGIS, UMS 3462 du CNRS, Po ˆle Analytique, La Rochelle Universite ´, 5 Alle ´es de l’Oce ´an, 17000 La Rochelle, France M. C. O. Santos Laborato ´rio de Biologia da Conservac ¸a ˜o de Mamı ´feros Aqua ´ticos, Instituto Oceanogra ´fico, Universidade de Sa ˜o Paulo, Sa ˜o Paulo, SP 05508-120, Brazil I. Casca ˜o Department of Oceanography and Fisheries & Okeanos Centre, University of the Azores, 9901-862 Horta, Portugal I. Casca ˜o Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre (MARE) & Institute of Marine Research (IMAR), University of the Azores, 9901-862 Horta, Portugal S. Que ´rouil ISEM, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, Montpellier, France 123 Aquat Ecol https://doi.org/10.1007/s10452-019-09722-3