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Genetic tagging of humpback whales

Nature volume 388, pages 767–769 (1997)Cite this article

Abstract

The ability to recognize individual animals has substantially increased our knowledge of the biology and behaviour of many taxa1. However, not all species lend themselves to this approach, either because of insufficient phenotypic variation or because tag attachment is not feasible. The use of genetic markers (‘tags’) represents a viable alternative to traditional methods of individual recognition, as they are permanent and exist in all individuals. We tested the use of genetic markers as the primary means of identifying individuals in a study of humpback whales in the North Atlantic Ocean. Analysis of six microsatellite loci2,3 among 3,060 skin samples collected throughout this ocean allowed the unequivocal identification of individuals. Analysis of 692 ‘recaptures’, identified by their genotype, revealed individual local and migratory movements of up to 10,000 km, limited exchange among summer feeding grounds, and mixing in winter breeding areas, and also allowed the first estimates of animal abundance based solely on genotypic data. Our study demonstrates that genetic tagging is not only feasible, but generates data (for example, on sex) that can be valuable when interpreting the results of tagging experiments.

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Figure 1: Numbers and distribution of recaptures.

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Acknowledgements

Most samples were collected during the international collaborative project (Year of the North Atlantic Humpback Wahle (YONAH). We thank T. H. Andersen, P. Arctander, C. Berchok, I. Bonnelly, M. Fredholm, J. Jensen, K. B. Pedensen, P. Raahaùge, J. Robbins, O. Vasquez and E. Widén for their support and assistance. Funds were obtained from the Commission for Scientific Research in Greenland, the Greenland Home Rule, the EU Biotechnology Program, the Danish and Norwegian Research Councils, the US National Marine Fisheries Service. The US National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, the International Whaling Commission, the US State Department, the Aage V. Jensen Charity Foundation, the Dorr Foundation, the American–Scandinavian Foundation, the Exxon Corporation, and Feodor Pitcairn.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Population Biology, Universitetsparken 15, Copenhagen, DK-2100, Denmark

    Per J. Palsbøll, Martine Bérube´, Tonnie P. Feddersen, Hanne Jørgensen, Anja Holm Larsen & Renate Sponer

  2. Allied Whale, College of the Atlantic, Bar Harbor, 04609, Maine, USA

    Judith Allen, Steve Katona & Peter Stevick

  3. Department of Natural Resources Science, Ste-Anne de Bellevue, H9X 3V9, Quebec, Canada

    Martine Bérube´

  4. Center for Coastal Studies, 59 Commercial Street, Provincetown, 02657, Massachusetts, USA

    Phillip J. Clapham & David K. Mattila

  5. Sea Mammal Research Unit, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, KY16 8LB, Fife, UK

    Philip S. Hammond

  6. Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, 92697, California, USA

    Richard R. Hudson

  7. Greenland Institute of Natural Resources, PO Box 570, 3900, Nuuk, Greenland

    Finn Larsen#

  8. Whale Research Group, Memorial University, A1B 3X9, Newfoundland, Canada

    Jon Lien

  9. Marine Research Institute, Skulagata 4, PO Box 1390, 121, Reykjavik, Iceland

    Jóhann Sigurjónsson

  10. Mingan Island Cetacean Study Inc., 285 Green Street, Ste-Lambert, J4P 1T3, Quebec, Canada

    Richard Sears

  11. US National Marine Fisheries Service, Northeast Fisheries Science Center, Woods Hole, 02543, Massachusetts, USA

    Tim Smith

  12. Institute of Marine Research, P.O. Box 1870, Nordnes, N1-15024, Bergen, Norway

    Nils Øien

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  1. Per J. Palsbøll
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  9. Steve Katona
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  11. Finn Larsen#
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  13. David K. Mattila
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  16. Tim Smith
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  18. Peter Stevick
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  19. Nils Øien
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Per J. Palsbøll.

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Palsbøll, P., Allen, J., Bérube´, M. et al. Genetic tagging of humpback whales. Nature 388, 767–769 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1038/42005

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