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Genetic data provide insights into social structure, population structure, and ancestry of false killer whales



Details

  • Journal Title:
    Whalewatcher
  • Personal Author:
    Martien, Karen K.
  • NOAA Program & Office:
  • Description:
    The past few decades have brought a revolution in our ability to generate genetic data and use it to investigate parentage, kinship, population structure, and taxonomy. Human genetic ancestry services like 23andMe have enabled many people to personally experience this revolution. These services allow us to learn where our ancestors came from, connect with distant relatives, and learn something about our genetic predisposition to certain medical conditions. Sometimes people are surprised by unexpected results – learning of ancestry they didn’t know they had, or thought they had but don’t; finding out that the people they grew up believing were their full siblings are actually their half siblings; finding out they have a relative who was placed for adoption shortly after birth. We can use genetic data to uncover the same types of information about wildlife species that genetic ancestry services tell us about our own parentage, kinship, and ancestry. Genetic studies of false killer whales have revealed critical details about inbreeding risk, population connectivity, and unique evolutionary lineages that need protection.
  • Keywords:
  • Source:
    Whalewatcher, 2025, False Killer Whales: The Pseudorca Issue, pp. 66-70
  • Format:
    PDF
  • Document Type:
    Journal Article
  • Place as Subject:
    Hawaii
  • Rights Information:
    Accepted Manuscript
  • Compliance:
    Submitted
  • Main Document Checksum:
    urn:sha-512:22592fc8588ecc3c0c7a472995e3b0d2f1d9eef3b0141cf78415b68e164f8f19c70a6e0d757a64db2ea1035f4b8d577e37f4c1299121a5fd2407ea13edf0dc95
  • Download URL:
  • File Type:
    Filetype[PDF - 5.71 MB ]
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