26 January 2026: A new study on population structure and divergence time among East Greenland and Eastern Canadian Arctic narwhals.

A study by Lopes and colleagues, titled “Population structure and divergence time among East Greenland and West Greenland/Eastern Canadian Arctic narwhals, Monodon monoceros”, was published in the Polar Biology journal in October 2025.  

Narwhals live exclusively in the Arctic and are highly sensitive to climate change. They also play an important role in subsistence hunting in Canada and Greenland. Sustainable management of these stocks requires a clear understanding of the species’ genetic population structure. Genetic studies reveal when different narwhal populations diverged over time and how these events align with major past environmental changes, while helping scientists to better understand how future environmental shifts may impact the species. Understanding their genetic population structure also helps in defining different populations that can be managed separately from each other. 

Lopes and colleagues collected genetic samples from 40 narwhals in six sampling locations to understand their population structure and divergence times. The samples were collected in both East and West Greenland and in the Eastern Canadian Arctic.  The authors estimated that narwhals from East Greenland diverged and became separate from those in West Greenland and the Eastern Canadian Arctic during the Last Glacial Maximum, approximately 22,000 years ago, offering new insights into the effects of climate change on narwhal populations. Additionally, the biggest genetic differences were found between narwhals from Kangertittivaq (East Greenland) and Tasiujaq (Eastern Canadian Arctic). The results support the management of East Greenland narwhals separately from the West Greenland/Eastern Canada stocks, as they are so genetically distinct. 

You can read the full article by Lopes et al. HERE.  

Photo credit: All Canada Photos.