Speaker: Franca Eichenberger, Postdoctoral Scholar, Marine Mammal Institute, Oregon State University, Hatfield Marine Science Center

Topic: Finding fathers and remembering mothers – using DNA profiles for long-term studies of humpback whales

Considering the long lifespan of baleen whales, long-term data collection is crucial to make inferences on their life history, mating system and population dynamics. In this talk, we present analyses of two extensive datasets of humpback whale DNA profiles collected over the last three decades. First, we assess patterns of male reproductive success on a humpback whale breeding ground in the South Pacific. Using an integrative analysis of paternity and epigenetic ageing, we further investigate age-related changes in male reproduction across the study period. Our findings offer insights into the possible evolutionary consequences of commercial whaling on the demography and sexual selection of exploited populations of humpback whales. Finally, we introduce an ongoing analysis of DNA profiles of humpback whales in the eastern North Pacific to assess the fine-scale spatial-genetic variation along the US West Coast resulting from strong maternal fidelity to regional feeding grounds. This work will contribute to ongoing efforts on the identification of management units and effective conservation of humpback whales in the Pacific.