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),...
The Antarctic blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus intermedia) was hunted to near extinction between 1904 and 1972, declining from an estimated initial abundance of more than 250,000 to fewer than 400. Here, we describe mtDNA control region diversity and geographic differentiation in the surviving population of the Antarctic blue whale, using...
Once hunted to the brink of extinction, humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in the North Atlantic have recently been increasing in numbers. However, uncertain information on past abundance makes it difficult to assess the extent of the recovery in this species. While estimates of pre-exploitation abundance based upon catch data suggest...
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...
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-τ). This...
We investigated the species identity and local use of cetaceans on the Gilbert
Islands, Republic of Kiribati. Working with the Kiribati Ministry of Environment,
Lands and Agricultural Development and Fisheries Division, we visited
the islands of Tarawa, Tabiteuea (North), Butaritari and Onotoa from June to
July 2009, and collected 24...
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...
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...
Understanding genetic differentiation and speciation processes in marine species with high dispersal capabilities is challenging. The Chilean dolphin, Cephalorhynchus eutropia, is the only endemic cetacean of Chile and is found in two different coastal habitats: a northern habitat with exposed coastlines, bays and estuaries from Valparaíso (33°02' S) to Chiloé...
A small number of cetaceans have adapted to an entirely freshwater environment, having colonized rivers in Asia and South America from an ancestral origin in the marine environment. This includes the 'river dolphins', early divergence from the odontocete lineage, and two species of true dolphins (Family Delphinidae). Successful adaptation to...