Effects of inbreeding on reproductive success in endangered North Atlantic right whales
Only approximately 356 North Atlantic right whales ( Eubalaena glacialis ) remain. With extremely low levels of genetic diversity, limited options for mates, and variation in reproductive success across females, there is concern regarding the potential for genetic limitations of population growth fr...
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crroyalsociety:10.1098/rsos.240490 2024-09-15T18:05:10+00:00 Effects of inbreeding on reproductive success in endangered North Atlantic right whales Crossman, Carla A. Hamilton, Philip K. Brown, Moira W. Conger, Lisa A. George, R. Clay Jackson, Katharine A. Radvan, Sonya N. Frasier, Timothy R. Genome Canada Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada 2024 http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsos.240490 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsos.240490 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full-xml/10.1098/rsos.240490 en eng The Royal Society http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Royal Society Open Science volume 11, issue 7 ISSN 2054-5703 journal-article 2024 crroyalsociety https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.240490 2024-08-05T04:35:29Z Only approximately 356 North Atlantic right whales ( Eubalaena glacialis ) remain. With extremely low levels of genetic diversity, limited options for mates, and variation in reproductive success across females, there is concern regarding the potential for genetic limitations of population growth from inbreeding depression. In this study, we quantified reproductive success of female North Atlantic right whales with a modified de-lifing approach using reproductive history information collected over decades of field observations. We used double-digest restriction site-associated sequencing to sequence approximately 2% of the genome of 105 female North Atlantic right whales and combined genomic inbreeding estimates with individual fecundity values to assess evidence of inbreeding depression. Inbreeding depression could not explain the variance in reproductive success of females, however we present evidence that inbreeding depression may be affecting the viability of inbred fetuses—potentially lowering the reproductive success of the species as a whole. Combined, these results allay some concerns that genetic factors are impacting species survival as genetic diversity is being retained through selection against inbred fetuses. While still far fewer calves are being born each year than expected, the small role of genetics underlying variance in female fecundity suggests that variance may be explained by external factors that can potentially be mitigated through protection measures designed to reduce serious injury and mortality from human activities. Article in Journal/Newspaper Eubalaena glacialis North Atlantic The Royal Society Royal Society Open Science 11 7 |
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Open Polar |
collection |
The Royal Society |
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crroyalsociety |
language |
English |
description |
Only approximately 356 North Atlantic right whales ( Eubalaena glacialis ) remain. With extremely low levels of genetic diversity, limited options for mates, and variation in reproductive success across females, there is concern regarding the potential for genetic limitations of population growth from inbreeding depression. In this study, we quantified reproductive success of female North Atlantic right whales with a modified de-lifing approach using reproductive history information collected over decades of field observations. We used double-digest restriction site-associated sequencing to sequence approximately 2% of the genome of 105 female North Atlantic right whales and combined genomic inbreeding estimates with individual fecundity values to assess evidence of inbreeding depression. Inbreeding depression could not explain the variance in reproductive success of females, however we present evidence that inbreeding depression may be affecting the viability of inbred fetuses—potentially lowering the reproductive success of the species as a whole. Combined, these results allay some concerns that genetic factors are impacting species survival as genetic diversity is being retained through selection against inbred fetuses. While still far fewer calves are being born each year than expected, the small role of genetics underlying variance in female fecundity suggests that variance may be explained by external factors that can potentially be mitigated through protection measures designed to reduce serious injury and mortality from human activities. |
author2 |
Genome Canada Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Crossman, Carla A. Hamilton, Philip K. Brown, Moira W. Conger, Lisa A. George, R. Clay Jackson, Katharine A. Radvan, Sonya N. Frasier, Timothy R. |
spellingShingle |
Crossman, Carla A. Hamilton, Philip K. Brown, Moira W. Conger, Lisa A. George, R. Clay Jackson, Katharine A. Radvan, Sonya N. Frasier, Timothy R. Effects of inbreeding on reproductive success in endangered North Atlantic right whales |
author_facet |
Crossman, Carla A. Hamilton, Philip K. Brown, Moira W. Conger, Lisa A. George, R. Clay Jackson, Katharine A. Radvan, Sonya N. Frasier, Timothy R. |
author_sort |
Crossman, Carla A. |
title |
Effects of inbreeding on reproductive success in endangered North Atlantic right whales |
title_short |
Effects of inbreeding on reproductive success in endangered North Atlantic right whales |
title_full |
Effects of inbreeding on reproductive success in endangered North Atlantic right whales |
title_fullStr |
Effects of inbreeding on reproductive success in endangered North Atlantic right whales |
title_full_unstemmed |
Effects of inbreeding on reproductive success in endangered North Atlantic right whales |
title_sort |
effects of inbreeding on reproductive success in endangered north atlantic right whales |
publisher |
The Royal Society |
publishDate |
2024 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsos.240490 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsos.240490 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full-xml/10.1098/rsos.240490 |
genre |
Eubalaena glacialis North Atlantic |
genre_facet |
Eubalaena glacialis North Atlantic |
op_source |
Royal Society Open Science volume 11, issue 7 ISSN 2054-5703 |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.240490 |
container_title |
Royal Society Open Science |
container_volume |
11 |
container_issue |
7 |
_version_ |
1810442746402439168 |