Population genetic structure of living and dead southern right whales (Eubalaena australis) off Península Valdés, Argentina

VALENZUELA, L.; SIRONI, M.; ROWNTREE, V.J.; LA SALA, L.; POZZI, L.; MOHAMED, N.; MUSMECI, L.; ANDREJUK, J.; UHART, M.; CHIRIFE, A.; MARON, C.; SEGER, J.

Agadir, Marruecos

Workshop; International Whaling Commission's 62nd Annual Meeting; 2010

International Whaling Commission

Strong site fidelity to breeding or feeding grounds may diminish an animal’s ability to find and use better areas when its current habitat becomes unsuitable. Southern right whale populations are recovering from near extinction, and as their numbers have increased they have begun to reutilise former habitats. An assessment of intra- and inter-population genetic heterogeneity is needed to reveal how dispersal influences survival and reproduction in this species. Here we address several aspects of genetic structure in the Península Valdés population, using sequence data from a 630bp region of the mitochondrial genome. We examine genetic differentiation between areas, age-sex classes, calving cohorts, and living versus dead whales, and we reassess the large-scale population structure of Eubalaena australis throughout its range using all available mitochondrial data. There is significant genetic heterogeneity among years for stranded (dead) individuals but not for living individuals at Península Valdés. The pattern of genetic differentiation previously described between the subpopulations breeding off South America, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand is seen in the enlarged mitochondrial data set.