Dear colleagues,
On behalf of my co-authors, I am pleased to share our new publication:
https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.230365
N.S.J. Lysiak, S.H. Ferguson, C.A. Hornby, M.P. Heidi-Jørgensen, and C.J.D.
Matthews. 2023. Prolonged baleen hormone cycles suggest atypical reproductive
endocrinology of female bowhead whales. Royal Society Open Science,10: 230365.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.230365
Abstract: Serial measurements of hormone concentrations along baleen plates
allow for reconstructions of mysticete whale reproductive histories. We
assessed gestation and calving interval in bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus)
by measuring progesterone, oestradiol, corticosterone and nitrogen stable
isotope ratios (δ15N) along baleen of 10 females from the eastern Canada-west
Greenland population. Three immature females (body size < 14.32 m) had
uniformly low progesterone concentrations across their baleen, while seven
mature females (body size ≥ 14.35 m) had repeated, sustained elevations of
progesterone indicative of pregnancies. The mean duration of progesterone
elevations (23.6 ± 1.50 months) was considerably longer than the approximately
14 month gestation previously estimated for this species. We consider several
possible explanations for this observation, including delayed implantation or
sequential ovulations prior to gestation, strategies that would allow females
to maximize their fitness in variable Arctic conditions, as well as suggest
modified criteria defining gestation as a shorter component of the entire
progesterone peak. Calving intervals varied within and among individuals (mean
= 3.7 years; range = range 2.8–5.7 years), providing population-specific
reproductive estimates for growth models used in bowhead whale management and
conservation.
Please email me nadine.lys...@gmail.com <mailto:nadine.lys...@gmail.com> if you
have any questions.
Best wishes,
Nadine
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