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The History and Future of Whales

The History and Future of Whales. Dr. Stephen R. Palumbi Hot Science - Cool Talks Volume 45.

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The History and Future of Whales

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  1. The History and Future of Whales Dr. Stephen R. Palumbi Hot Science - Cool Talks Volume 45 Produced by and for the Hot Science – Cool Talks Outreach Lecture Series of the Environmental Science Institute. We request that the use of any of these materials include an acknowledgement of Dr. Stephen R. Palumbi and the Hot Science – Cool Talks Outreach Lecture Series of the Environmental Science Institute of the University of Texas at Austin. We hope you find these materials educational and enjoyable.

  2. The History and Future of Whales Stephen R. Palumbi Stanford University's Hopkins Marine Station

  3. Ocean neighborhoods have changed The Sea Around Us Project: D. Pauly and coworkers at UBC

  4. The Sea Around Us Project: D. Pauly and coworkers at UBC

  5. The Sea Around Us Project: D. Pauly and coworkers at UBC

  6. Results of effort-based management The Sea Around Us Project: D. Pauly and coworkers at UBC

  7. Decline in state of the World’s fisheries Vitousek et al. 1997

  8. What fish is that on my plate? Microdocs.org - Cooking with DNA - NPR’s Splendid Table

  9. Package of whale meat - what species is it?

  10. What whale meat is legal? • International Whaling Commission (IWC) Sets catch limits and manages population recovery • Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES) Requires permits for international shipment

  11. CITES Convention for the International Trade of Endangered Species • Regulates imports and exports of endangered species and derivatives of endangered species • Distinguishes endangered and commercially threatened species • Member nations follow strict import/export regulations

  12. Scientific whaling • IWC members issue themselves permits for scientific whaling. • Review is necessary but approval is not. • Commercial use of products is encouraged after research use.

  13. Forensic monitoring of resource use NOAA

  14. Forensics and the future DNA testing of retail whale products examines relationship between policy and practice Scott Baker on first Tokyo meat mission (1993)

  15. Scott Baker tries for a GQ cover

  16. Matt Hare on 1998 Tokyo mission

  17. PCR copied whale genes are separated from native whale DNA in the field so we can strictly follow CITES regulations

  18. Simplified phylogeny of whales used for assigning species names to meat samples

  19. Molecular identification of baleen whale products 339 369 10 2 9 7 49 2 7 N. minke S. minke Brydes Pygmy Brydes Sci Humpback Fin Blue Grey Data from Palumbi, Baker labs 1993-2000

  20. 5 1 5 56 6 19 2 104 7 Sperm Pygmy Sperm Other Beaked Whales Baird’s Cuvier’s Porpoise Killer Whale Dolphin Non-Whale Species other than baleen whales in retail markets Data from Palumbi, Baker labs 1993-2000

  21. Conclusion • Many species of whales and dolphins are for sale in retail markets. • Does this failure to protect put any whales at risk of extinction?

  22. Consequences of selling the wrong whales Threatened Sea of Japan minke meat masquerading as legal take from the North Pacific North Pacific genotypes Sea of Japan genotypes Genotypes from market Surveys show 1:2 mix of Sea of Japan and North Pacific animals

  23. The consequence of scientific whaling Predicted extinction of Sea of Japan minke whales (Baker et al. 2000)

  24. Dolphins and porpoises make up a major fraction of the whale meat market in Japan. We’ve known for a while that unsafe toxin loads (heavy metals, PCBs, Dioxins) are found most commonly in dolphin and porpoise products. So, is dolphin meat labeled as whale meat unsafe?

  25. Yes, dolphin meat is often toxic How bad? Dolphins > Pacific minke whales> southern minkes 20 18 Southern minke whale 16 Northern minke whale 14 12 Odontocetes 10 8 6 4 2 0 .1 .2 .3 .4 .5 .6 .7 .8 .9 1 Mercury content (micrograms/gram)

  26. Mercury in Whale Meat (samples from 1999) 50 One Stenella dolphin sample @ 200 µg/g 45 40 35 Dolphins and porpoise meat has high mercury loads 30 25 Count 20 Unsafe levels 15 10 5 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Mercury content(micrograms/gram)

  27. The history of whales revealed by genetics How many whales were there before hunting?

  28. Catch records for Antarctic whales are well known. From Hilborn et al. 2004

  29. Where History Comes From • Written records • Oral records • Fossils • Tree rings • Ice cores • Reef cores Byrd Polar Research Center 2005

  30. Climate History Tree rings and ice cores record climate Arnold Paul

  31. Family history My Great Aunts

  32. What do we know about the histories of whale populations?

  33. “It is impossible to describe either the number of whales or their familiarity,” with breath that “caused a most annoying stench” Jean Francoise de La Perouse, 1786

  34. Trouble with conventional wisdom about whale history (e.g. Atlantic fin whales) Current estimate: 47,300 Fin Whales North Atlantic 1969-89 Mean: 47,300 Range: 27,700 - 82,000 www.iwcoffice.org/conservation/estimate.htm Past estimate: 30-50,000 (Sargeant 1977) www.calacademy.org

  35. Genetic estimates of population size Inbreeding decreases genetic diversity Mutation increases genetic diversity

  36. Genetic estimates of population size Large populations have low inbreeding High diversity

  37. Genetic estimates of population size Small populations have strong inbreeding Low diversity

  38. For stable, single populations and neutral mtDNA variation: = 2Ne(f) : genetic diversity : substitutions/generation

  39. Atlantic collaborator Joe Roman at Harvard University

  40. World-wide sample of humpback whales from biopsies Data from Palumbi, Baker, Palsbol, Rosenbaum

  41. Phylogenetic Trees Branch Length and Genetic Diversity Shared recent ancestors (similarity of DNA signified by shorter branch length) Shared ancient ancestors (greater differences in DNA signified by longer branch length)

  42. High global mtDNA diversity for humpback whales Genetic diversity predicted for 115,000 whales 4% 3% 2% 1% 0 Branch lengths (percent substitution)

  43. Genetic estimates of world-wide population Genetic diversity predicted for 115,000 whales >1 million humpbacks 4% 3% 2% 1% 0 Branch lengths (percent substitution)

  44. North Atlantic humpback mtDNA diversity = 2.2% (n = 188) = 2*(# breeding females) * (mutation/generation) ==> female size = 68,000 ==> population size = 240,000

  45. Current view of the history of humpback whales Original population - 115,000 North Atlantic original - 30,000 North Atlantic current - 10,000 MSY North Atlantic - 16,000 Nearly ready for harvest

  46. Genetic view of the history of humpback whales Original population - 1,500,000 North Atlantic original - 314,000 North Atlantic current - 10,000 MSY North Atlantic - 170,000 Ready for harvest in 150 years

  47. Antarctic whales existed in huge numbers What does DNA tell us about their past?

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