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...
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...
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...
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...
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),...