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Takahashi M, Førland B, Pastene LA, Skaug HJ. Geographical distribution of close kin in southern right whales on feeding grounds. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0301588. [PMID: 38662742 PMCID: PMC11045074 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0301588] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2023] [Accepted: 03/19/2024] [Indexed: 04/28/2024] Open
Abstract
This study investigated the close kinship structure of southern right whales on feeding grounds during austral summer seasons. The study was based on biopsy samples of 171 individual whales, which were genotyped with 14 microsatellite DNA loci. Kinship was investigated by using the LOD (Log Odds) score, a relatedness index for a pair of genotypes. Based on a cut-off point of LODPO > 6, which was chosen to balance false positives and negatives, a total of 28 dyads were inferred. Among these, 25 were classified as parent-offspring pairs. Additional genetic (mitochondrial DNA haplotypes) and biological (estimated body length, sex) data were used to provide additional information on the inferred close kin pairs. The elapsed time between sampling varied from 0 (close kin detected in the same austral summer season) to 17 years. All the kin pairs occurred within the Antarctic Indo sector (85°-135°E) and no pair occurred between whales within and outside of this sector. Six pairs were between individuals in high (Antarctic) and lower latitudes. Results of the present analysis on kinship are consistent with the views that whales in the Indo sector of the Antarctic are related with the breeding ground in Southwest Australia, and that whales from this population can occupy different feeding grounds. The present study has the potential to contribute to the conservation of the southern right whales through the monitoring of important population parameters such as population sizes and growth rate, in addition to assist the interpretation of stock structure derived from standard population genetic analyses.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Brage Førland
- Department of Mathematics, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
| | - Luis A. Pastene
- Institute of Cetacean Research, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
- Project R20F0009, Centro de Estudios del Cuaternario de Fuego, Patagonia y Antártica (CEQUA), Punta Arenas, Chile
| | - Hans J. Skaug
- Department of Mathematics, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
- Institute of Marine Research, Nordnes, Bergen, Norway
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Carroll EL, Ott PH, McMillan LF, Galletti Vernazzani B, Neveceralova P, Vermeulen E, Gaggiotti OE, Andriolo A, Baker CS, Bamford C, Best P, Cabrera E, Calderan S, Chirife A, Fewster RM, Flores PAC, Frasier T, Freitas TRO, Groch K, Hulva P, Kennedy A, Leaper R, Leslie MS, Moore M, Oliveira L, Seger J, Stepien EN, Valenzuela LO, Zerbini A, Jackson JA. Genetic Diversity and Connectivity of Southern Right Whales (Eubalaena australis) Found in the Brazil and Chile-Peru Wintering Grounds and the South Georgia (Islas Georgias del Sur) Feeding Ground. J Hered 2021; 111:263-276. [PMID: 32347944 PMCID: PMC7238439 DOI: 10.1093/jhered/esaa010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2019] [Accepted: 04/21/2020] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
As species recover from exploitation, continued assessments of connectivity and population structure are warranted to provide information for conservation and management. This is particularly true in species with high dispersal capacity, such as migratory whales, where patterns of connectivity could change rapidly. Here we build on a previous long-term, large-scale collaboration on southern right whales (Eubalaena australis) to combine new (nnew) and published (npub) mitochondrial (mtDNA) and microsatellite genetic data from all major wintering grounds and, uniquely, the South Georgia (Islas Georgias del Sur: SG) feeding grounds. Specifically, we include data from Argentina (npub mtDNA/microsatellite = 208/46), Brazil (nnew mtDNA/microsatellite = 50/50), South Africa (nnew mtDNA/microsatellite = 66/77, npub mtDNA/microsatellite = 350/47), Chile-Peru (nnew mtDNA/microsatellite = 1/1), the Indo-Pacific (npub mtDNA/microsatellite = 769/126), and SG (npub mtDNA/microsatellite = 8/0, nnew mtDNA/microsatellite = 3/11) to investigate the position of previously unstudied habitats in the migratory network: Brazil, SG, and Chile-Peru. These new genetic data show connectivity between Brazil and Argentina, exemplified by weak genetic differentiation and the movement of 1 genetically identified individual between the South American grounds. The single sample from Chile-Peru had an mtDNA haplotype previously only observed in the Indo-Pacific and had a nuclear genotype that appeared admixed between the Indo-Pacific and South Atlantic, based on genetic clustering and assignment algorithms. The SG samples were clearly South Atlantic and were more similar to the South American than the South African wintering grounds. This study highlights how international collaborations are critical to provide context for emerging or recovering regions, like the SG feeding ground, as well as those that remain critically endangered, such as Chile-Peru.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emma L Carroll
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.,School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK
| | - Paulo H Ott
- Grupo de Estudos de Mamíferos Aquáticos do Rio Grande do Sul, Torres, RS, Brazil.,Universidade Estadual do Rio Grande do Sul, Osório, RS, Brazil
| | - Louise F McMillan
- School of Mathematics and Statistics, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand
| | | | - Petra Neveceralova
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic.,Ivanhoe Sea Safaris, Gansbaai, South Africa.,Dyer Island Conservation Trust, Great White House, Kleinbaai, Gansbaai, South Africa
| | - Els Vermeulen
- Mammal Research Institute Whale Unit, Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Hatfield, South Africa
| | | | - Artur Andriolo
- Departamento de Zoologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, Campus Universitário, Juiz de Fora, MG, Brazil.,Instituto Aqualie, Juiz de Fora, MG, Brazil
| | - C Scott Baker
- Marine Mammal Institute and Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Oregon State University, Newport, OR
| | - Connor Bamford
- British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge, UK.,University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
| | | | - Elsa Cabrera
- Centro de Conservación Cetacea-Casilla 19178 Correo 19, Santiago, Chile
| | | | - Andrea Chirife
- Instituto de Ciencias Biomédicas (ICB), Universidad Andrés Bello, Chile
| | - Rachel M Fewster
- Department of Statistics, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Paulo A C Flores
- Área de Proteção Ambiental (Environmental Protection Area) Anhatomirim, ICMBio, MMA, Florianópolis, SC, Brazil
| | - Timothy Frasier
- Department of Biology, Saint Mary's University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
| | - Thales R O Freitas
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Genética e Biologia Molecular- Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Karina Groch
- Instituto Australis, Imbituba, Santa Catarina, Brazil
| | - Pavel Hulva
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic.,Department of Biology and Ecology, University of Ostrava, Ostrava, Czech Republic
| | - Amy Kennedy
- Marine Mammal Laboratory, Alaska Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, Seattle, WA
| | | | | | - Michael Moore
- Biology Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA
| | - Larissa Oliveira
- Universidade Estadual do Rio Grande do Sul, Osório, RS, Brazil.,Laboratório de Ecologia de Mamíferos, Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos, Centro de Ciências da Saúde, Sao Leopoldo, RS, Brazil
| | - Jon Seger
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT
| | - Emilie N Stepien
- Section of Marine Mammal Research, Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Luciano O Valenzuela
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT.,Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Laboratorio de Ecología Evolutiva Humana, UNCPBA, Quequén, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina.,Instituto de Conservación de Ballenas, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Alexandre Zerbini
- Marine Mammal Laboratory, Alaska Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, Seattle, WA.,Marine Ecology and Telemetry Research, Seabeck, WA.,Joint Institute for the Study of the Atmosphere and Ocean (JISAO), University of Washington, Seattle, WA
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Whale and dolphin behavioural responses to dead conspecifics. ZOOLOGY 2018; 128:1-15. [PMID: 29801996 DOI: 10.1016/j.zool.2018.05.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2018] [Revised: 05/08/2018] [Accepted: 05/08/2018] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
The scientific study of death across animal taxa-comparative thanatology-investigates how animals respond behaviourally, physiologically and psychologically to dead conspecifics, and the processes behind such responses. Several species of cetaceans have been long known to care for, attend to, be aroused by, or show interest in dead or dying individuals. We investigated patterns and variation in cetacean responses to dead conspecifics across cetacean taxa based on a comprehensive literature review. We analysed 78 records reported between 1970 and 2016, involving 20 of the 88 extant cetacean species. We adopted a weighted comparative approach to take observation effort into account and found that odontocetes (toothed cetaceans) were much more likely than mysticetes (baleen whales) to attend to dead conspecifics. Dolphins (Delphinidae) had the greatest occurrence of attentive behaviour (92.3% of all records), with a weighed attendance index 18 times greater than the average of all other cetacean families. Two dolphin genera, Sousa and Tursiops, constituted 55.1% of all cetacean records (N=43) and showed the highest incidence of attentive behaviour. Results of analyses intended to investigate the reasons behind these differences suggested that encephalisation may be an important predictor, consistent with the "social brain" hypothesis. Among attending individuals or groups of known sex (N=28), the majority (75.0%) were adult females with dead calves or juveniles (possibly their own offspring, with exceptions), consistent with the strong mother-calf bond, or, in a few cases, with the bond between mothers and other females in the group. The remaining records (25.0%) involved males either showing sexual interest in a dead adult or subadult, or carrying a dead calf in the presence of females. Because an inanimate individual is potentially rescuable, responses to dead conspecifics-especially by females-can be explained at least in part by attempts to revive and protect, having a clear adaptive value. In some cases such responses are followed by apparently maladaptive behaviour such as the long-term carrying of, or standing by, a decomposed carcass, similar to observations of certain terrestrial mammals. Among the possible explanations for the observed cetacean behavioural responses to dead conspecifics are strong attachment resulting in a difficulty of "letting go"-possibly related to grieving-or perhaps individuals failing to recognise or accept that an offspring or companion has died. Our current understanding is challenged by small sample size, incomplete descriptions, and lack of information on the physiology and neural processes underpinning the observed behaviour. We provide research recommendations that would improve such understanding.
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