New genome sequencing shows inbreeding contributes to decline of endangered killerwhales NatureEcoEvo
The project has decoded the DNA of about 100 Southern Resident killer whales, including some that have died in recent years. It also looked at whales from other populations in the northeast Pacific Ocean.
"For a long time, we've struggled to understand why this population has consistently lower survival and birth rates than other killer whales in the region, and this research highlights a strong link between inbred individuals and increased risk of death," said Eric Ward, a statistician at the science center and coauthor of the research."It's a view we've never had before, and it begins to fill a gap in our understanding.
The new research indicates that inbreeding strongly limits the population's growth and recovery, making the whales more vulnerable to other threats. That underscores the urgency of addressing the other threats to the whales by restoring salmon habitat and other means, said Brad Hanson, a research scientist at the Northwest Fisheries Science Center in Seattle who leads field research on the whales.
"The whales are not necessarily dying of inbreeding itself, they are dying prematurely because inbreeding has set them up to be more vulnerable to diseases or other problems," he said."We need to minimize the potential for those factors to have an impact."Killer whales first reproduce at about 10 years old and reach their reproductive prime in their early twenties.
Animal populations must produce at least two surviving offspring per female to remain stable or increase in number.in zoos or aquaria, or by adding genetic diversity by introducing animals from other areas. However, that is unlikely to help the Southern Residents, which choose not to breed with other killer whales. They are known to encounter other killer whales in their home waters but reproduce only within their own population.
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