Genome-wide SNPs analysis unveils population structure of North Pacific blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus)

Genome-wide SNPs analysis unveils population structure of North Pacific blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus) | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Genome-wide SNPs analysis unveils population structure of North Pacific blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus) Katrin Kiemel, Mioko Taguchi, Marijke Autenrieth, Mutsuo Goto, and 3 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6363135/v2 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 2 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Show more versions Abstract Blue whales ( Balaenoptera musculus ) experienced substantial population declines in the 19th and 20th centuries due to commercial whaling and are currently listed as endangered species. As a result, they have attracted considerable scientific interest, not least the species' population structure. While the population structure of blue whales has been intensively studied in the Antarctic and South Pacific, the population structure within the North Pacific remains poorly understood. Acoustic and movement data suggest the presence of at least two distinct populations, but genetic evidence has been lacking due to limited sample availability. This study provides the first comprehensive genetic analysis of blue whales across the North Pacific (NP), using the eastern South Pacific (ESP) as an outgroup. We analysed 12,951 SNPs in 50 specimens (NP: n = 35, ESP: n = 15) and a population-informative subset of 96 SNPs in 60 specimens across the North Pacific (ENP: n = 23, WNP: n = 37), along with 480bp of the mitochondrial control region, to investigate population structure. ADMIXTURE analyses, supported by PCA and DAPC, identified three distinct genetic clusters: one separating the eastern South from the North Pacific and two additional dominant clusters within the North Pacific. These North Pacific clusters exhibited trends of site fidelity, with one primarily associated with the eastern North Pacific and the other with the western North Pacific. Our findings provide strong genetic support for the presence of at least two distinct populations in the North Pacific, highlighting the need for a shift in management perspectives - from a single to a two-stock framework. Balaenoptera musculus genome-wide SNPs ddRAD population genomics kinship mtDNA Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Supplementary Files KiemelBLConservGenetsupplementarymaterialrev.docx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 2 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Show more versions Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6363135","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":453138116,"identity":"13aae00c-ed6d-4f9a-9753-2be994cfe224","order_by":0,"name":"Katrin Kiemel","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA/ElEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACCWYQWcBgAKIOMFQASWbmBiK0GAAhG0jLGZAWRgJaGJC0MDC2gXgEtEi2Mx/d8MGAwZh/fu/Dw4XzaqP524FaflRsw6lFmpkt7eYMAwYziWPsBodnbjueO+MwYwNjz5nbOLXIMfOY3eYxYLBhOMbGcJh327HcBqAWZsY2fFr4v93+A9QiD9Yy51jufEJapJl52G4DPW9mANbSUJO7gZAWyWY2s5s9BhLGhsfSGA7zHDuQuxGo5SA+v0icP/zsxo8KG8N5h48xf+apqcudd/7wwQc/KnBrgemEMQ6DyQOE1CODOlIUj4JRMApGwQgBAO/fVTNmoy5nAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"Institute of Cetacean Research","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Katrin","middleName":"","lastName":"Kiemel","suffix":""},{"id":453138117,"identity":"3d1a3c2a-acdd-4033-87b1-6cc1fe47264c","order_by":1,"name":"Mioko Taguchi","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Institute of Cetacean Research","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Mioko","middleName":"","lastName":"Taguchi","suffix":""},{"id":453138118,"identity":"348b6d35-8623-4e45-8637-bf1ed40de060","order_by":2,"name":"Marijke Autenrieth","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Potsdam","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Marijke","middleName":"","lastName":"Autenrieth","suffix":""},{"id":453138119,"identity":"c977bff2-745f-441d-913c-356fe52f9837","order_by":3,"name":"Mutsuo Goto","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Institute of Cetacean Research","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Mutsuo","middleName":"","lastName":"Goto","suffix":""},{"id":453138120,"identity":"490251e1-f0da-4d9a-9e5c-ba2e93ee003a","order_by":4,"name":"Koji Matsuoka","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Institute of Cetacean Research","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Koji","middleName":"","lastName":"Matsuoka","suffix":""},{"id":453138122,"identity":"bff69f65-de44-4ecb-a8bf-2642ce45a47f","order_by":5,"name":"Ralph Tiedemann","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Potsdam","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Ralph","middleName":"","lastName":"Tiedemann","suffix":""},{"id":453138125,"identity":"7f68e33f-c52c-4627-a49d-54bcf356dc94","order_by":6,"name":"Luis A. 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