A piece of the puzzle: analyses of recent strandings and historical records reveal new genetic and ecological insights on New Zealand sperm whales
Cetacean strandings provide important opportunities to extend current knowledge on species or populations, particularly for species that are notoriously difficult to study, such as sperm whales Physeter macrocephalus (parāoa). Between 25 May and 9 June 2018, 13 male sperm whales stranded in Taranaki...
Published in: | Marine Ecology Progress Series |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | unknown |
Published: |
2022
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3354/meps14051 |
id |
ftmasseyuniv:oai:mro.massey.ac.nz:10179/17415 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftmasseyuniv:oai:mro.massey.ac.nz:10179/17415 2023-10-01T03:58:57+02:00 A piece of the puzzle: analyses of recent strandings and historical records reveal new genetic and ecological insights on New Zealand sperm whales Palmer E Alexander A Liggins L Guerra M Bury SJ Hendriks H Stockin KA Peters KJ 2022-01-01 201 - 217 https://doi.org/10.3354/meps14051 unknown Marine Ecology Progress Series Marine Ecology Progress Series, 2022, 690 pp. 201 - 217 0171-8630 doi:10.3354/meps14051 454155 1616-1599 Massey_Dark © The authors 2022. Open Access under Creative Commons by Attribution Licence. Use, distribution and reproduction are un - restricted. Authors and original publication must be credited. CC BY 0405 Oceanography 0602 Ecology 0608 Zoology Journal article 2022 ftmasseyuniv https://doi.org/10.3354/meps14051 2023-09-05T17:24:42Z Cetacean strandings provide important opportunities to extend current knowledge on species or populations, particularly for species that are notoriously difficult to study, such as sperm whales Physeter macrocephalus (parāoa). Between 25 May and 9 June 2018, 13 male sperm whales stranded in Taranaki, New Zealand (NZ), with an additional male stranding 1 mo later in Clifford Bay, Marlborough. We profiled these 14 males for mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes to examine their similarity to sperm whales from other geographic areas. Analyses of mtDNA revealed 7 haplotypes, including 1 not previously described (‘New’), and an additional haplotype (‘M’) new to NZ that had been previously reported in sperm whales of the Pacific region. Analysis of rare haplotypes found in NZ males suggested genetic links within NZ and the Southwest Pacific. Differences in stable isotope ratios indicated that, despite the close temporal proximity of these stranding events, individuals originated from at least 2 separate groups, with the whale stranded in Clifford Bay identified as being a regular visitor to Kaikōura, South Island. The analysis of stranding records in NZ dating back to 1873 indicated an increase in recorded single strandings since 1970, and a peak in single strandings in the austral summer months, but no seasonality for mass strandings. Sex predicted latitudinal location for single strandings, with 95.1% of female strandings occurring north of 42° S, fitting the general global distribution of female sperm whales limited to lower latitudes. This study provides the first temporal and spatial assessment of sperm whale strandings in NZ and highlights the need for future research on movements and genetic exchange between NZ sperm whales and sperm whales in the wider Pacific region. Published Article in Journal/Newspaper Physeter macrocephalus Sperm whale Massey University: Massey Research Online Austral Clifford ENVELOPE(-63.167,-63.167,-70.467,-70.467) Clifford Bay ENVELOPE(-129.143,-129.143,52.597,52.597) New Zealand Pacific Marine Ecology Progress Series 690 201 217 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Massey University: Massey Research Online |
op_collection_id |
ftmasseyuniv |
language |
unknown |
topic |
0405 Oceanography 0602 Ecology 0608 Zoology |
spellingShingle |
0405 Oceanography 0602 Ecology 0608 Zoology Palmer E Alexander A Liggins L Guerra M Bury SJ Hendriks H Stockin KA Peters KJ A piece of the puzzle: analyses of recent strandings and historical records reveal new genetic and ecological insights on New Zealand sperm whales |
topic_facet |
0405 Oceanography 0602 Ecology 0608 Zoology |
description |
Cetacean strandings provide important opportunities to extend current knowledge on species or populations, particularly for species that are notoriously difficult to study, such as sperm whales Physeter macrocephalus (parāoa). Between 25 May and 9 June 2018, 13 male sperm whales stranded in Taranaki, New Zealand (NZ), with an additional male stranding 1 mo later in Clifford Bay, Marlborough. We profiled these 14 males for mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes to examine their similarity to sperm whales from other geographic areas. Analyses of mtDNA revealed 7 haplotypes, including 1 not previously described (‘New’), and an additional haplotype (‘M’) new to NZ that had been previously reported in sperm whales of the Pacific region. Analysis of rare haplotypes found in NZ males suggested genetic links within NZ and the Southwest Pacific. Differences in stable isotope ratios indicated that, despite the close temporal proximity of these stranding events, individuals originated from at least 2 separate groups, with the whale stranded in Clifford Bay identified as being a regular visitor to Kaikōura, South Island. The analysis of stranding records in NZ dating back to 1873 indicated an increase in recorded single strandings since 1970, and a peak in single strandings in the austral summer months, but no seasonality for mass strandings. Sex predicted latitudinal location for single strandings, with 95.1% of female strandings occurring north of 42° S, fitting the general global distribution of female sperm whales limited to lower latitudes. This study provides the first temporal and spatial assessment of sperm whale strandings in NZ and highlights the need for future research on movements and genetic exchange between NZ sperm whales and sperm whales in the wider Pacific region. Published |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Palmer E Alexander A Liggins L Guerra M Bury SJ Hendriks H Stockin KA Peters KJ |
author_facet |
Palmer E Alexander A Liggins L Guerra M Bury SJ Hendriks H Stockin KA Peters KJ |
author_sort |
Palmer E |
title |
A piece of the puzzle: analyses of recent strandings and historical records reveal new genetic and ecological insights on New Zealand sperm whales |
title_short |
A piece of the puzzle: analyses of recent strandings and historical records reveal new genetic and ecological insights on New Zealand sperm whales |
title_full |
A piece of the puzzle: analyses of recent strandings and historical records reveal new genetic and ecological insights on New Zealand sperm whales |
title_fullStr |
A piece of the puzzle: analyses of recent strandings and historical records reveal new genetic and ecological insights on New Zealand sperm whales |
title_full_unstemmed |
A piece of the puzzle: analyses of recent strandings and historical records reveal new genetic and ecological insights on New Zealand sperm whales |
title_sort |
piece of the puzzle: analyses of recent strandings and historical records reveal new genetic and ecological insights on new zealand sperm whales |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3354/meps14051 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-63.167,-63.167,-70.467,-70.467) ENVELOPE(-129.143,-129.143,52.597,52.597) |
geographic |
Austral Clifford Clifford Bay New Zealand Pacific |
geographic_facet |
Austral Clifford Clifford Bay New Zealand Pacific |
genre |
Physeter macrocephalus Sperm whale |
genre_facet |
Physeter macrocephalus Sperm whale |
op_relation |
Marine Ecology Progress Series Marine Ecology Progress Series, 2022, 690 pp. 201 - 217 0171-8630 doi:10.3354/meps14051 454155 1616-1599 Massey_Dark |
op_rights |
© The authors 2022. Open Access under Creative Commons by Attribution Licence. Use, distribution and reproduction are un - restricted. Authors and original publication must be credited. CC BY |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3354/meps14051 |
container_title |
Marine Ecology Progress Series |
container_volume |
690 |
container_start_page |
201 |
op_container_end_page |
217 |
_version_ |
1778532251334606848 |