A new way to estimate the age of bowhead whales ( Balaena mysticetus) using ovarian corpora counts
We used lengths and reproductive data for bowhead whales ( Balaena mysticetus L., 1758) harvested by Alaskan Eskimos to estimate female reproductive parameters and age. Data from 117 females determined that 75 were sexually mature and 42 were immature. Estimated length at sexual maturity was 13.35 m...
Published in: | Canadian Journal of Zoology |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Canadian Science Publishing
2011
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z11-057 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/full-xml/10.1139/z11-057 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/z11-057 |
id |
crcansciencepubl:10.1139/z11-057 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
crcansciencepubl:10.1139/z11-057 2024-09-30T14:32:41+00:00 A new way to estimate the age of bowhead whales ( Balaena mysticetus) using ovarian corpora counts George, J.C. Follmann, E. Zeh, J. Sousa, M. Tarpley, R. Suydam, R. Horstmann-Dehn, L. 2011 http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z11-057 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/full-xml/10.1139/z11-057 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/z11-057 en eng Canadian Science Publishing http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining Canadian Journal of Zoology volume 89, issue 9, page 840-852 ISSN 0008-4301 1480-3283 journal-article 2011 crcansciencepubl https://doi.org/10.1139/z11-057 2024-09-05T04:11:16Z We used lengths and reproductive data for bowhead whales ( Balaena mysticetus L., 1758) harvested by Alaskan Eskimos to estimate female reproductive parameters and age. Data from 117 females determined that 75 were sexually mature and 42 were immature. Estimated length at sexual maturity was 13.35 m. Counts of ovarian corpora were obtained from 50 mature females. Corpora and baleen data were used with aspartic acid racemization (AAR) data to obtain estimated age at sexual maturity (ASM) at ≈26 years. The number of corpora counted in both ovaries (or estimated when only one ovary was counted) was used with ASM and estimated ovulation rate (OR) to obtain corpora age estimates ranging from 26 to 149 years. A stone harpoon tip recovered from whale 92B2 was consistent with her corpora age of 133 years. The correlation between corpora and AAR age estimates was 0.77. Estimated standard errors of corpora ages tended to be somewhat higher than those for comparable AAR ages. A sample of potentially mature females examined for maturity and presence of a corpus luteum and (or) fetus provided an OR value of 0.332·year –1 and an estimated pregnancy rate of 0.326·year –1 , implying intervals between ovulations and pregnancies of 3.0 and 3.1 years. Article in Journal/Newspaper Balaena mysticetus eskimo* Canadian Science Publishing Canadian Journal of Zoology 89 9 840 852 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Canadian Science Publishing |
op_collection_id |
crcansciencepubl |
language |
English |
description |
We used lengths and reproductive data for bowhead whales ( Balaena mysticetus L., 1758) harvested by Alaskan Eskimos to estimate female reproductive parameters and age. Data from 117 females determined that 75 were sexually mature and 42 were immature. Estimated length at sexual maturity was 13.35 m. Counts of ovarian corpora were obtained from 50 mature females. Corpora and baleen data were used with aspartic acid racemization (AAR) data to obtain estimated age at sexual maturity (ASM) at ≈26 years. The number of corpora counted in both ovaries (or estimated when only one ovary was counted) was used with ASM and estimated ovulation rate (OR) to obtain corpora age estimates ranging from 26 to 149 years. A stone harpoon tip recovered from whale 92B2 was consistent with her corpora age of 133 years. The correlation between corpora and AAR age estimates was 0.77. Estimated standard errors of corpora ages tended to be somewhat higher than those for comparable AAR ages. A sample of potentially mature females examined for maturity and presence of a corpus luteum and (or) fetus provided an OR value of 0.332·year –1 and an estimated pregnancy rate of 0.326·year –1 , implying intervals between ovulations and pregnancies of 3.0 and 3.1 years. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
George, J.C. Follmann, E. Zeh, J. Sousa, M. Tarpley, R. Suydam, R. Horstmann-Dehn, L. |
spellingShingle |
George, J.C. Follmann, E. Zeh, J. Sousa, M. Tarpley, R. Suydam, R. Horstmann-Dehn, L. A new way to estimate the age of bowhead whales ( Balaena mysticetus) using ovarian corpora counts |
author_facet |
George, J.C. Follmann, E. Zeh, J. Sousa, M. Tarpley, R. Suydam, R. Horstmann-Dehn, L. |
author_sort |
George, J.C. |
title |
A new way to estimate the age of bowhead whales ( Balaena mysticetus) using ovarian corpora counts |
title_short |
A new way to estimate the age of bowhead whales ( Balaena mysticetus) using ovarian corpora counts |
title_full |
A new way to estimate the age of bowhead whales ( Balaena mysticetus) using ovarian corpora counts |
title_fullStr |
A new way to estimate the age of bowhead whales ( Balaena mysticetus) using ovarian corpora counts |
title_full_unstemmed |
A new way to estimate the age of bowhead whales ( Balaena mysticetus) using ovarian corpora counts |
title_sort |
new way to estimate the age of bowhead whales ( balaena mysticetus) using ovarian corpora counts |
publisher |
Canadian Science Publishing |
publishDate |
2011 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z11-057 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/full-xml/10.1139/z11-057 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/z11-057 |
genre |
Balaena mysticetus eskimo* |
genre_facet |
Balaena mysticetus eskimo* |
op_source |
Canadian Journal of Zoology volume 89, issue 9, page 840-852 ISSN 0008-4301 1480-3283 |
op_rights |
http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1139/z11-057 |
container_title |
Canadian Journal of Zoology |
container_volume |
89 |
container_issue |
9 |
container_start_page |
840 |
op_container_end_page |
852 |
_version_ |
1811636764149809152 |