Biology Faculty Articles
Title
Abundant Mitochondrial DNA Variation and World-Wide Population Structure in Humpback Whales
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
9-1-1993
Publication Title
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
ISSN
1091-6490
Volume
90
Issue/No.
17
First Page
8239
Last Page
8243
Abstract
Hunting during the last 200 years reduced many populations of mysticete whales to near extinction. To evaluate potential genetic bottlenecks in these exploited populations, we examined mitochondrial DNA control region sequences from 90 individual humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) representing six subpopulations in three ocean basins. Comparisons of relative nucleotide and nucleotype diversity reveal an abundance of genetic variation in all but one of the oceanic subpopulations. Phylogenetic reconstruction of nucleotypes and analysis of maternal gene flow show that current genetic variation is not due to postexploitation migration between oceans but is a relic of past population variability. Calibration of the rate of control region evolution across three families of whales suggests that existing humpback whale lineages are of ancient origin. Preservation of preexploitation variation in humpback whales may be attributed to their long life-span and overlapping generations and to an effective, though perhaps not timely, international prohibition against hunting.
NSUWorks Citation
Baker, C. S.; A. Perry; J. L. Bannister; M. T. Weinrich; R. B. Abernethy; J. Calambokidis; J. Lien; R. H. Lambertsen; J. Urban Ramirez; O. Vasquez; P. J. Clapham; A. Alling; Stephen J. O'Brien; and S. R. Palumbi. 1993. "Abundant Mitochondrial DNA Variation and World-Wide Population Structure in Humpback Whales." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 90, (17): 8239-8243. https://nsuworks.nova.edu/cnso_bio_facarticles/231
ORCID ID
0000-0001-7353-8301
ResearcherID
N-1726-2015
