American scientists from Oregon State University studied the impact of whaling on large whale populations in the 20th century. They concluded that industrial hunting has not only wiped out a significant portion of the blue and humpback whale populations, but also reduced the genetic diversity of these animals. To work published In the scientific journal Journal of Heredity.
Experts compared the DNA of whale bones taken from beaches near abandoned whaling stations on the Atlantic island of South Georgia with the genes of modern whales. The analysis showed loss of maternal DNA sequences in living animals.
“Maternal lineage is often linked to cultural memories of animals, such as their feeding and breeding grounds, that are passed down from generation to generation. “If the maternal line is lost, this information is likely to be lost as well,” said Angela Sremba, lead author of the study.
It is estimated that in just over 60 years in the 20th century, more than 2 million whales were killed in the Southern Hemisphere, 175,000 of which were killed near the island of South Georgia. Its shores are still littered with thousands of whale bones, preserved due to low temperatures due to its proximity to Antarctica.
The South Atlantic whale population began to recover after commercial whaling ended, but the animals rarely come close to southern Georgia, said Scott Baker, deputy director of the Marine Mammal Institute at Oregon State University. This indicates the complete destruction of the local population. Surviving whales and their descendants were forced to rediscover these places.
Previous scientists offered a way to protect humpback whales without affecting the crab industry.