Reproductive histories of female humpback whales Megaptera novaeangliae in the North Pacific

Baker, C. Scott; Perry, A.; Herman, LM

doi:10.3354/meps041103

Cited by 90 publications

(73 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…For most whales, however, the close dependency of the calf with its mother during the first year of life and the first complete annual migration (e.g. Baker et al 1987) provides a direct mechanism for a learned fidelity to both breeding and feeding habitat through maternal experience. This early maternal experience forms the basis for the cultural inheritance of migratory destination, which can be lost as a result of local exploitation (Clapham et al 2008).…”

Section: Migratory Fidelitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Strong maternal fidelity and natal philopatry shape genetic structure in North Pacific humpback whales

Baker¹,

Steel²,

Calambokidis³

et al. 2013

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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181

254

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We quantified the relative influence of maternal fidelity to feeding grounds and natal fidelity to breeding grounds on the population structure of humpback whales Megaptera novaeangliae based on an ocean-wide survey of mitochondrial (mt) DNA diversity in the North Pacific. For 2193 biopsy samples collected from whales in 10 feeding regions and 8 breeding regions during the winter and summer of 2004 to 2006, we first used microsatellite genotyping (average, 9.5 loci) to identify replicate samples. From sequences of the mtDNA control region (500 bp) we identified 28 unique haplotypes from 30 variable sites. Haplotype frequencies differed markedly among feeding regions (overall F ST = 0.121, Φ ST = 0.178, p < 0.0001), supporting previous evidence of strong maternal fidelity. Haplotype frequencies also differed markedly among breeding regions (overall F ST = 0.093, Φ ST = 0.106, p < 0.0001), providing evidence of strong natal fidelity. Although sex-biased dispersal was not evident, differentiation of microsatellite allele frequencies was weak compared to differentiation of mtDNA haplotypes, suggesting male-biased gene flow. Feeding and breeding regions showed significant differences in haplotype frequencies, even for regions known to be strongly connected by patterns of individual migration. Thus, the influence of migratory fidelity seems to operate somewhat independently on feeding and breeding grounds over an evolutionary time scale. This results in a complex population structure and the potential to define multiple units to conserve in either seasonal habitat.

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Section: Migratory Fidelitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Strong maternal fidelity and natal philopatry shape genetic structure in North Pacific humpback whales

Baker¹,

Steel²,

Calambokidis³

et al. 2013

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

Self Cite

181

254

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Our estimate lies within the 95% confidence intervals for both Alaska and Hawaii. Using the methods of Baker et al (1987) the ''apparent'' birth rate in our study was 0.53 for all years combined (Table 3). The birth interval estimated as the inverse of this birth rate is 1.89 yr, which is considerably smaller than our maximum likelihood estimate of 2.38 yr.…”

Section: Birth Intervalsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A New Birth-Interval Approach to Estimating Demographic Parameters of Humpback Whales

Barlow

Clapham

1997

Ecology

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Abstract. A demographic model is developed based on interbirth intervals and is applied to estimate the population growth rate of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in the Gulf of Maine. Fecundity rates in this model are based on the probabilities of giving birth at time t after a previous birth and on the probabilities of giving birth first at age x. Maximum likelihood methods are used to estimate these probabilities using sighting data collected for individually identified whales. Female survival rates are estimated from these same sighting data using a modified Jolly-Seber method. The youngest age at first parturition is 5 yr, the estimated mean birth interval is 2.38 yr (SE ϭ 0.10 yr), the estimated noncalf survival rate is 0.960 (SE ϭ 0.008), and the estimated calf survival rate is 0.875 (SE ϭ 0.047). The population growth rate () is estimated to be 1.065; its standard error is estimated as 0.012 using a Monte Carlo approach, which simulated sampling from a hypothetical population of whales. The simulation is also used to investigate the bias in estimating birth intervals by previous methods. The approach developed here is applicable to studies of other populations for which individual interbirth intervals can be measured.

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“…This means that on the wintering ground, newly pregnant females have a lower capture probability than females with calves, and there is often a male sex bias (Smith et al 1999). Because humpback whales have a modal reproductive cycle of two or three years (although it can vary between one and five years), the migratory timing of individual whales, and therefore availability for capture on wintering grounds, appears to vary across years depending on reproductive status (Baker et al 1987, Craig et al 2003. There is also evidence that sei whale Balaenoptera borealis migration is structured by age, sex, and reproductive status in a way similar to that of humpback whales (Gregor et al 2000, Best andLockyer 2002).…”

Section: Utility Of Popan-smentioning

confidence: 99%

Accounting for female reproductive cycles in a superpopulation capture–recapture framework

Carroll

Childerhouse²,

Fewster

et al. 2013

Ecological Applications

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Abstract. Superpopulation capture-recapture models are useful for estimating the abundance of long-lived, migratory species because they are able to account for the fluid nature of annual residency at migratory destinations. Here we extend the superpopulation POPAN model to explicitly account for heterogeneity in capture probability linked to reproductive cycles (POPAN-s). This extension has potential application to a range of species that have temporally variable life stages (e.g., non-annual breeders such as albatrosses and baleen whales) and results in a significant reduction in bias over the standard POPAN model. We demonstrate the utility of this model in simultaneously estimating abundance and annual population growth rate (k) in the New Zealand (NZ) southern right whale (Eubalaena australis) from 1995 to 2009. DNA profiles were constructed for the individual identification of more than 700 whales, sampled during two sets of winter expeditions in 1995-1998 and 2006-2009. Due to differences in recapture rates between sexes, only sex-specific models were considered. The POPAN-s models, which explicitly account for a decrease in capture probability in non-calving years, fit the female data set significantly better than do standard superpopulation models (DAIC . 25). The best POPAN-s model (AIC) gave a superpopulation estimate of 1162 females for 1995-2009 (95% CL 921, 1467 and an estimated annual increase of 5% (95% CL À2%, 13%). The best model (AIC) gave a superpopulation estimate of 1007 males (95% CL 794, 1276) and an estimated annual increase of 7% (95% CL 5%, 9%) for 1995-2009. Combined, the total superpopulation estimate for 1995-2009 was 2169 whales (95% CL 1836, 2563). Simulations suggest that failure to account for the effect of reproductive status on the capture probability would result in a substantial positive bias (þ19%) in female abundance estimates.

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Reproductive histories of female humpback whales Megaptera novaeangliae in the North Pacific

Cited by 90 publications

References 16 publications

Strong maternal fidelity and natal philopatry shape genetic structure in North Pacific humpback whales

Strong maternal fidelity and natal philopatry shape genetic structure in North Pacific humpback whales

A New Birth-Interval Approach to Estimating Demographic Parameters of Humpback Whales

Accounting for female reproductive cycles in a superpopulation capture–recapture framework

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