22 August 2024: New study on the population structure and history of North Atlantic blue whales

Jossey and colleagues published a new study titled “Population structure and history of North Atlantic Blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus musculus) inferred from whole genome sequence analysis” in Conservation Genetics. In this study, the researchers provide the first insights into the genetic variation and history of blue whale populations from the North Atlantic using their genetic information. The authors used the total of 28 samples: 26 from the North Atlantic, one from the South Atlantic and one from the Antarctic. Of the 26 North Atlantic samples, 11 were samples from 2014–2019, and rest were historical samples from museum skeletons. In addition, they used archived genetic data sequences from a North Atlantic blue whale, as well as two sei whales downloaded from GenBank.

Prior to this study, it was assumed that northeast and northwest Atlantic blue whale populations were separate based on their songs and photo identification. The genetic analysis in this work showed that the structure of the North Atlantic blue whale populations is more complex than just separating them into east and west populations. Those complexities are important to keep in mind when making conservation decisions.

If you are interested, you can read the whole study by Jossey at al. here: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10592-023-01584-5.

Photo credits: NOAA Fisheries/Marjorie Foster