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First molecular estimate of sex-ratio of southern right whale calves, Eubalaena australis, for Brazilian waters

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 May 2009

Larissa Rosa de Oliveira ,
Paulo Henrique Ott ,
Paulo A.C. Flores ,
Salvatore Siciliano ,
Raquel Santos de Almeida  and
Sandro L. Bonatto
Larissa Rosa de Oliveira*
Affiliation:
Grupo de Estudos de Mamíferos Aquáticos do Rio Grande do Sul (GEMARS), Rua Felipe Neri 382/203, Porto Alegre, RS, 90440-150, Brazil Centro de Estudos Costeiros, Limnológicos e Marinhos da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (CECLIMAR/UFRGS), Avenida Tramandaí 976, Imbé, RS, 95625-000, Brazil Laboratório de Biologia Evolutiva e Conservação de Vertebrados, Universidade de São Paulo (LABEC-USP), Departamento de Biologia (Genética), Rua do Matão 277, São Paulo, SP, 05508-900, Brazil Laboratório de Biologia Genômica e Molecular, Faculdade de Biociências, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS), Avenida Ipiranga 6681, Porto Alegre, RS, 90619-900, Brazil
Paulo Henrique Ott
Affiliation:
Grupo de Estudos de Mamíferos Aquáticos do Rio Grande do Sul (GEMARS), Rua Felipe Neri 382/203, Porto Alegre, RS, 90440-150, Brazil Centro de Estudos Costeiros, Limnológicos e Marinhos da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (CECLIMAR/UFRGS), Avenida Tramandaí 976, Imbé, RS, 95625-000, Brazil Universidade Estadual do Rio Grande do Sul (UERGS), Avenida Mostardeiro 3635, Cidreira, RS, 95595-000, Brazil
Paulo A.C. Flores
Affiliation:
Centro Nacional de Pesquisa, Conservação e Manejo de Mamíferos Aquáticos – CMA, ICMBio CMA SC – Rod. Maurício Sirotsky Sobrinho, s/n, km02, Jurerê, Florianópolis, SC, 88053-700, Brazil
Salvatore Siciliano
Affiliation:
Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública/FIOCRUZ, Departamento de Endemias Samuel Pessoa, Rua Leopoldo Bulhões, 1480-60, ondar, sala 620, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 21041-210, Brazil
Raquel Santos de Almeida
Affiliation:
Grupo de Estudos de Mamíferos Aquáticos do Rio Grande do Sul (GEMARS), Rua Felipe Neri 382/203, Porto Alegre, RS, 90440-150, Brazil Centro de Estudos Costeiros, Limnológicos e Marinhos da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (CECLIMAR/UFRGS), Avenida Tramandaí 976, Imbé, RS, 95625-000, Brazil Laboratório de Biologia Genômica e Molecular, Faculdade de Biociências, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS), Avenida Ipiranga 6681, Porto Alegre, RS, 90619-900, Brazil
Sandro L. Bonatto
Affiliation:
Laboratório de Biologia Genômica e Molecular, Faculdade de Biociências, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS), Avenida Ipiranga 6681, Porto Alegre, RS, 90619-900, Brazil
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: L.R. de Oliveira, Grupo de Estudos de Mamíferos Aquáticos do Rio Grande do Sul (GEMARS), Rua Felipe Neri 382/203, Porto Alegre, RS, 90440-150, Brazil email: lari.minuano@gmail.com
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Abstract

The southern right whale (Eubalaena australis) was one of the most intensively hunted whales between the 17th and 20th centuries in the southern hemisphere. Recent estimates indicate that today there are around 7000 whales, representing 5 to 10% of its original population. On the other hand, recent studies estimated that the population that migrates to the Brazilian coast grew by 14% from 1987 to 2003. However, there is no information about sex-ratio for adults or for calves in this region, which is an important parameter for understanding the biology of the species. We present here the first estimate of calves' sex-ratio of southern right whales found along the southern Brazilian coast, one of the most important wintering grounds for the species. Sex was molecularly indentified for 21 biopsies collected from calves between 1998 and 2002, along the coast of Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina States, in southern Brazil. The sex-ratio was two females for one male, however, it was not statistically different (χ2 test, α = 0.05; df = 1) from the expected ratio of 1:1. This result is in accordance with the sex-ratio estimated for the species of all ages using external morphology (and behaviour information), as well as for most species of baleen whales.

Keywords

cetaceanscalfEubalaena australisgenetic sex identificationsex-ratiosouthern right whale
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 89 , Special Issue 5: Cetaceans , August 2009 , pp. 1003 - 1007
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2009

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