We present genetic and morphological evidence supporting the recognition of a
previously synonymized species of Mesoplodon beaked whale in the tropical Indo-Pacific,
Mesoplodon hotaula. Although the new species is closely-related to the rare
ginkgo-toothed beaked whale M. ginkgodens, we show that these two lineages can be
differentiated by maternally (mitochondrial...
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, New South Wales 2052, Australia; C. SCOTT BAKER and
DEBBIE STEEL, School of Biological Sciences
The interplay of natural selection and genetic drift, influenced by geographic isolation, mating systems and population size, determines patterns of genetic diversity within species. The sperm whale provides an interesting example of a long-lived species with few geographic barriers to dispersal. Worldwide mtDNA diversity is relatively low, but highly structured...
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Alexander1,2,3*, Debbie Steel1,2, Kendra Hoekzema2, Sarah Mesnick4, Daniel Engelhaupt5, Iain Kerr6, Roger Payne6
The interplay of natural selection and genetic drift, influenced by geographic isolation, mating systems and population size, determines patterns of genetic diversity within species. The sperm whale provides an interesting example of a long-lived species with few geographic barriers to dispersal. Worldwide mtDNA diversity is relatively low, but highly structured...
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worldwide genetic structure of
sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus)?
ALANA ALEXANDER,*† ‡ DEBBIE STEEL
Large population sizes and global distributions generally associate with high mitochondrial DNA control region (CR) diversity. The sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) is an exception, showing low CR diversity relative to other cetaceans; however, diversity levels throughout the remainder of the sperm whale mitogenome are unknown. We sequenced 20 mitogenomes from...
In 2014, Oregon State University (OSU) initiated a multi-year project to study humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) migrations in the North Pacific Ocean using satellite tracking technology in combination with genetic and photo-identification (photo-ID) analyses. The study is highly relevant to management, given the need for new information arising from the...
Estimating the abundance of long-lived, migratory animals is challenging but essential
for managing populations. We provide the first abundance estimates of endangered humpback
whales Megaptera novaeangliae from their breeding grounds in Oceania, South Pacific.
Using fluke photo-identification (1999−2004, n = 660 individuals) and microsatellite genotypes
(1999−2005, n = 840 individuals),...
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4
Rochelle Constantine1, Jennifer Jackson2, Debbie Steel1,3, C. Scott Baker1,3*, 5
Lyndon
Estimating the abundance of long-lived, migratory animals is challenging but essential
for managing populations. We provide the first abundance estimates of endangered humpback
whales Megaptera novaeangliae from their breeding grounds in Oceania, South Pacific.
Using fluke photo-identification (1999−2004, n = 660 individuals) and microsatellite genotypes
(1999−2005, n = 840 individuals),...
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-identification and microsatellite genotyping
Rochelle Constantine1,*, Jennifer A. Jackson, Debbie Steel, C
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 novae-angliae 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...
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whales
C. Scott Baker1,*, Debbie Steel1, John Calambokidis2, Erin Falcone2,
Ursula González-Peral3, Jay