Assessment of mitochondrial DNA structuring and nursery use in the North Atlantic right whale (<i>Eubalaena glacialis</i>)

Malik, Sobia; Brown, Moira W.; Kraus, Scott D.; Knowlton, AR; Hamilton, P. K.; White, Bradley N.

doi:10.1139/z99-073

Cited by 32 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…However, there is no consensus in the literature about whether this pattern persists at multiple stages of the annual cycle for all whales (e.g. North Atlantic Right whales ( Eubalaena glacialis ) Malik et al. 1999; Southern Right whales, Patenaude et al.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cultural inheritance drives site fidelity and migratory connectivity in a long-distance migrant

et al. 2010

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Cultural transmission is thought to be a mechanism by which migratory animals settle into habitats, but little evidence exists in wild populations because of the difficulty of following individuals over successive generations and wide geographical distances. Cultural inheritance of migration routes represents a mechanism whereby geographical isolation can arise between separate groups and could constrain individuals to potentially suboptimal sites within their range. Conversely, adopting the parental migratory route in adult life, rather than dispersing randomly, may increase an individual's reproductive success because that strategy has already been proven to allow successful breeding. We combined a pedigree of related light-bellied Brent geese (Branta bernicla hrota) with 6 years of observations of marked birds to calculate the dispersal distances of adult offspring from their parents in both Ireland and Iceland. In both countries, the majority of offspring were found to recruit into or near their parental sites, indicating migratory connectivity in the flyway. Despite this kin structure, we found no evidence of genetic differentiation using genotype data from 1127 individuals across 15 microsatellite loci. We suggest that the existence of migratory connectivity of subpopulations is far more common than previous research indicates and that cultural information may play an important role in structuring reproductive isolation among them.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cultural inheritance drives site fidelity and migratory connectivity in a long-distance migrant

et al. 2010

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“…DNA was extracted using standard protocols for cetacean skin described in Amos & Hoelzel (1991). Six hundred and thirty base pairs of the mitochondrial control region were amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using primers AB6617 and H00034 (Malik et al . 1999).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…1998a, b) and North Atlantic right whales ( Eubalaena glacialis , Schaeff et al . 1993; Malik et al . 1999), genetic differentiation of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) markers has been found among feeding grounds and among nursery grounds (the latter only in humpback whales in the North Pacific and Southern Hemisphere), consistent with female directed fidelity.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Isotopic and genetic evidence for culturally inherited site fidelity to feeding grounds in southern right whales (Eubalaena australis)

et al. 2009

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Ocean warming will undoubtedly affect the migratory patterns of many marine species, but specific changes can be predicted only where behavioural mechanisms guiding migration are understood. Southern right whales show maternally inherited site fidelity to near-shore winter nursery grounds, but exactly where they feed in summer (collectively and individually) remains mysterious. They consume huge quantities of copepods and krill, and their reproductive rates respond to fluctuations in krill abundance linked to El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Here we show that genetic and isotopic signatures, analysed together, indicate maternally directed site fidelity to diverse summer feeding grounds for female right whales calving at Península Valdés, Argentina. Isotopic values from 131 skin samples span a broad range (-23.1 to -17.2‰ δ¹³C, 6.0 to 13.8‰ δ¹⁵N) and are more similar than expected among individuals sharing the same mitochondrial haplotype. This pattern indicates that calves learn summer feeding locations from their mothers, and that the timescale of culturally inherited site fidelity to feeding grounds is at least several generations. Such conservatism would be expected to limit the exploration of new feeding opportunities, and may explain why this population shows increased rates of reproductive failure in years following elevated sea-surface temperature anomalies off South Georgia, the richest known feeding ground for baleen whales in the South Atlantic.

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“…Sample authenticity was assured because baleen plates were characterized with chronological and geographical information documented at the time of a whale's demise. We compared the genetic variability of six North Atlantic right whale samples taken a century ago with genetic variation in the remaining extant North Atlantic right whale population in which 84% of the extant population had been surveyed genetically (Malik et al 1999). …”

Section: Samples and Data Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Utility of North Atlantic Right Whale Museum Specimens for Assessing Changes in Genetic Diversity

Rosenbaum¹,

Egan²,

Clapham³

et al. 2000

Conservation Biology

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We examined six historical specimens of the endangered North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) using DNA isolatedfrom documented baleen platesfrom the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Sequences from the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region from these samples were compared with those from a near-exhaustive survey (269 of approximately 320 individuals) of the remaining right whales in the western North Atlantic Ocean. Our results suggest that there has been only relatively modest change in maternal lineage diversity over the past century in the North Atlantic right whale population. Any significant reduction in genetic variation in the species most likely occurred prior to the late nineteenth century. One historical specimen was from the last documented female capable of propagating one of the maternal lineages in the population today; no femnales in the existing population have been found to carry this mtDNA haplotype. Analysis of the only specimens from the eastern North Atlantic right whale population ever to be examined revealed that eastern and western North Atlantic right whales may not have been genetically differentiated populations. Loss of gene diversity experienced by North Atlantic right whales over the last century has been modest, and the six decades ofprotection have been successful in maintaining much of the maternal lineage diversity that was present in the late nineteenth century. Utilidad de los Especinlenes de Museo de la Ballena Franca Septentrional Eubalaena glacialis del Atlantico Norte para la Estimaci6n de Cambios en la Diversidad GeneticaResumen: Examinamos seis especimenes hist6ricos de la ballena franca septentrional Eubalaena glacialis del Atlantico Norte, usando ADN aislado deplacas de las barbas documentadas de finales de siglo diecinueve y principios del siglo veinte. Las secuencias del ADN mitocondrial (mtADN) de la regi6n control de estas muestras coinparadas con aquellas de una muestra casi exhaustiva (269 de aproximadamente 320 individuos) de las ballenas francas remanentes en el oceano Atlantico Norte Occidental. Nuestros resultados sugieren que solo ha habido ligeros cambios en la diversidad del linaje materno a lo largo del siglo pasado. Probablemente, cualquier reducci6n en la variaci6n genetica en las especies ocurri6 antes delfinal del siglo diecinueve. Uno de los especimenes hist6ricosfue de la ultima hembra documentada capaz de propagar uno de los linajes maternos en la poblaci6n actual. Ninguna de las hembras en las poblaciones existentes ha sido identificada conmo portadora de este haplotipo de mtADN. El andlisis de los especimenes de la poblaci6n de ballenas del Atlantico Norte Oriental examinados revelan que las ballenas francas del este y del oeste del Atlantico Norte podrian no haber sido poblaciones geneticamente diferentes. La perdida de diversidad genetica experimentada en las poblaciones de ballena franca del Atlantico Norte a lo largo del siglo pasado This article is a U.S. government work, and is not subject to copyright i...

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Assessment of mitochondrial DNA structuring and nursery use in the North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis)

Cited by 32 publications

References 24 publications

Cultural inheritance drives site fidelity and migratory connectivity in a long-distance migrant

Cultural inheritance drives site fidelity and migratory connectivity in a long-distance migrant

Isotopic and genetic evidence for culturally inherited site fidelity to feeding grounds in southern right whales (Eubalaena australis)

Utility of North Atlantic Right Whale Museum Specimens for Assessing Changes in Genetic Diversity

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