The following paper was published in /Molecular Ecology/'s EarlyView today.
Isotopic and genetic evidence for culturally inherited site fidelity to
feeding grounds in southern right whales (/Eubalaena australis/).
Luciano O. Valenzuela, Mariano Sironi, Victoria J. Rowntree and Jon
Seger. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-294X.2008.04069.x
Abstract
Ocean warming will undoubtedly affect the migratory patterns of many
marine species, but specific changes can be predicted only where
behavioural mechanisms guiding migration are understood. Southern right
whales show maternally inherited site fidelity to near-shore winter
nursery grounds, but exactly where they feed in summer (collectively and
individually) remains mysterious. They consume huge quantities of
copepods and krill, and their reproductive rates respond to fluctuations
in krill abundance linked to El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Here
we show that genetic and isotopic signatures, analysed together,
indicate maternally directed site fidelity to diverse summer feeding
grounds for female right whales calving at Península Valdés, Argentina.
Isotopic values from 131 skin samples span a broad range (-23.1 to
-17.20/00?13C, 6.0 to 13.80/00?15N) and are more similar than expected
among individuals sharing the same mitochondrial haplotype. This pattern
indicates that calves learn summer feeding locations from their mothers,
and that the timescale of culturally inherited site fidelity to feeding
grounds is at least several generations. Such conservatism would be
expected to limit the exploration of new feeding opportunities, and may
explain why this population shows increased rates of reproductive
failure in years following elevated sea-surface temperature anomalies
off South Georgia, the richest known feeding ground for baleen whales in
the South Atlantic.
Thanks,
Luciano Valenzuela
--
Luciano O. Valenzuela
Postdoctoral Researcher
Department of Biology
University of Utah
257 South 1400 East
Salt Lake City, UT, 84112, USA
Phone: 1-801-587-3405
[email protected]
http://ecophys.biology.utah.edu
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