Patterns of paternity: insights into mating competition and gene flow in a recovering population of humpback whales
Variation in reproductive success is a fundamental prerequisite for sexual selection to act upon a trait. Assessing such variation is crucial in understanding a species’ mating system and offers insights into population growth. Parentage analyses in cetaceans are rare, and the underlying forces of s...
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The Royal Society
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Royal Society Open Science |
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| Online Access: | https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.241424 |
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| author | Franca Eichenberger Emma L. Carroll Claire Garrigue Debbie J. Steel Claire D. Bonneville Luke Rendell Ellen C. Garland |
| author_facet | Franca Eichenberger Emma L. Carroll Claire Garrigue Debbie J. Steel Claire D. Bonneville Luke Rendell Ellen C. Garland |
| author_sort | Franca Eichenberger |
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| description | Variation in reproductive success is a fundamental prerequisite for sexual selection to act upon a trait. Assessing such variation is crucial in understanding a species’ mating system and offers insights into population growth. Parentage analyses in cetaceans are rare, and the underlying forces of sexual selection acting on their mating behaviours remain poorly understood. Here, we combined 25 years of photo-identification and genetic data to assess patterns of male reproductive success and reproductive autonomy of the New Caledonian (Oceania, South Pacific) humpback whale breeding population. Paternity analysis of 177 mother–offspring pairs and 936 males revealed low variation in male reproductive success (average 1.17 offspring per father) relative to other polygynous species. The observed skew in success was higher than expected under random mating and skewed overall towards males (93%) without evidence of paternity over the study period. Finally, an updated male gametic mark-recapture abundance estimate of 2084 (95% confidence interval = 1761–2407, 1995–2019) fell between previous census estimates of the New Caledonian population and the wider Oceanian metapopulation. Our results provide critical insights into the mating competition of male humpback whales and population dynamics across Oceanian populations, two important factors affecting the slow recovery from whaling across the South Pacific region. |
| format | Article |
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| institution | Kabale University |
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| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | The Royal Society |
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| series | Royal Society Open Science |
| spelling | doaj-art-53c712a710c9448aa8071c92be71bfe72025-01-08T00:06:24ZengThe Royal SocietyRoyal Society Open Science2054-57032025-01-0112110.1098/rsos.241424Patterns of paternity: insights into mating competition and gene flow in a recovering population of humpback whalesFranca Eichenberger0Emma L. Carroll1Claire Garrigue2Debbie J. Steel3Claire D. Bonneville4Luke Rendell5Ellen C. Garland6Sea Mammal Research Unit, Scottish Oceans Institute, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Fife KY16 8LB, UKSchool of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland – Waipapa Taumata Rau, Auckland, New ZealandUMR ENTROPIE (IRD, Université de La Réunion, Université de la Nouvelle-Calédonie, IFREMER, CNRS, Laboratoire d’Exellence – CORAIL), Nouméa 98848, New CaledoniaMarine Mammal Institute, Oregon State University, Newport, OR 97365, USAUMR ENTROPIE (IRD, Université de La Réunion, Université de la Nouvelle-Calédonie, IFREMER, CNRS, Laboratoire d’Exellence – CORAIL), Nouméa 98848, New CaledoniaSea Mammal Research Unit, Scottish Oceans Institute, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Fife KY16 8LB, UKSea Mammal Research Unit, Scottish Oceans Institute, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Fife KY16 8LB, UKVariation in reproductive success is a fundamental prerequisite for sexual selection to act upon a trait. Assessing such variation is crucial in understanding a species’ mating system and offers insights into population growth. Parentage analyses in cetaceans are rare, and the underlying forces of sexual selection acting on their mating behaviours remain poorly understood. Here, we combined 25 years of photo-identification and genetic data to assess patterns of male reproductive success and reproductive autonomy of the New Caledonian (Oceania, South Pacific) humpback whale breeding population. Paternity analysis of 177 mother–offspring pairs and 936 males revealed low variation in male reproductive success (average 1.17 offspring per father) relative to other polygynous species. The observed skew in success was higher than expected under random mating and skewed overall towards males (93%) without evidence of paternity over the study period. Finally, an updated male gametic mark-recapture abundance estimate of 2084 (95% confidence interval = 1761–2407, 1995–2019) fell between previous census estimates of the New Caledonian population and the wider Oceanian metapopulation. Our results provide critical insights into the mating competition of male humpback whales and population dynamics across Oceanian populations, two important factors affecting the slow recovery from whaling across the South Pacific region.https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.241424reproductive successsexual selectionpopulation recoverypaternity analysisgametic mark-recapturehumpback whale |
| spellingShingle | Franca Eichenberger Emma L. Carroll Claire Garrigue Debbie J. Steel Claire D. Bonneville Luke Rendell Ellen C. Garland Patterns of paternity: insights into mating competition and gene flow in a recovering population of humpback whales Royal Society Open Science reproductive success sexual selection population recovery paternity analysis gametic mark-recapture humpback whale |
| title | Patterns of paternity: insights into mating competition and gene flow in a recovering population of humpback whales |
| title_full | Patterns of paternity: insights into mating competition and gene flow in a recovering population of humpback whales |
| title_fullStr | Patterns of paternity: insights into mating competition and gene flow in a recovering population of humpback whales |
| title_full_unstemmed | Patterns of paternity: insights into mating competition and gene flow in a recovering population of humpback whales |
| title_short | Patterns of paternity: insights into mating competition and gene flow in a recovering population of humpback whales |
| title_sort | patterns of paternity insights into mating competition and gene flow in a recovering population of humpback whales |
| topic | reproductive success sexual selection population recovery paternity analysis gametic mark-recapture humpback whale |
| url | https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.241424 |
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