Bowhead whales appear to be on the rebound February 5th |
Bowhead whales are true northern creatures, swimming only in cold oceans off Alaska, Canada, Greenland, Svalbard and Russia. These bus-size whales have the largest mouths in the animal kingdom, can live for 200 years and can go without eating for more than a year due to their remarkable fat reserves.
Bowheads are also a rare wildlife rebound story, with the population north and west of Alaska now numbering more than 16,000. That s up from the 1,000 or so animals Yankee whalers left behind in bloody waters at the turn of the last century.
New DNA-based technique allows researchers to determine age of living beluga whales in Alaska
Researchers can now determine the age and sex of living beluga whales in Alaska’s Cook Inlet thanks to a new DNA-based technique that uses information from small samples of skin tissue.
Accurate age estimates are vital to conservation efforts for Cook Inlet belugas, which were listed as endangered following a significant population decline in the 1990s. Previously, researchers could only determine the age of beluga whales by studying the teeth of dead animals.
The new aging method uses DNA methylation data and machine learning to develop a model that captures the relationship between methylation and age. This relationship provides an epigenetic clock for beluga whales.
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IMAGE: A gray beluga whale calf with three adults in Cook Inlet, Alaska. NMFS ESA/MMPA Permit #20465. view more
Credit: Paul Wade, NOAA Alaska Fisheries Science Center.
NEWPORT, Ore. - Researchers can now determine the age and sex of living beluga whales in Alaska s Cook Inlet thanks to a new DNA-based technique that uses information from small samples of skin tissue.
Accurate age estimates are vital to conservation efforts for Cook Inlet belugas, which were listed as endangered following a significant population decline in the 1990s. Previously, researchers could only determine the age of beluga whales by studying the teeth of dead animals.
Cook Inlet beluga whales. Photo credit: NOAA Fisheries
NEWPORT, Ore. – Researchers can now determine the age and sex of living beluga whales in Alaska’s Cook Inlet thanks to a new DNA-based technique that uses information from small samples of skin tissue.
Accurate age estimates are vital to conservation efforts for Cook Inlet belugas, which were listed as endangered following a significant population decline in the 1990s. Previously, researchers could only determine the age of beluga whales by studying the teeth of dead animals.
The new aging method uses DNA methylation data and machine learning to develop a model that captures the relationship between methylation and age. This relationship provides an epigenetic clock for beluga whales.
For more than two decades, Alaska has led the way in using ecosystem information to inform resource management decisions. In 2020, contributions from research partners and local communities together with NOAA scientists helped fill some data gaps.