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19524
Open
SC/68D/IA/05
Mixed-stock apportionment of humpback whales in the North Pacific based on mtDNA haplotypes and microsatellite genotypes
Kelly Lizewski, Debbie Steel, Jorge Urb?n R., John Calambokidis and C. Scott Baker
IWC
The allocation of catches from the feeding grounds to breeding stocks is one of the objectives of the Comprehensive Assessment of humpback whales in the North Pacific. This catch allocation is complicated by the mixing of individuals from different breeding stocks on shared feeding grounds. Previously (Lizewski et. al. 2021; SC68c/IA/01), we use mixed-stock analyses of mtDNA haplotypes to estimate the apportionment of humpback whales from feeding areas to breeding regions (i.e., source
stocks), as a proxy for allocation of historical catches. For this, we updated the frequencies of mtDNA haplotypes from regional samples collected during the program Structure of Populations, Levels of
Abundance and Status of Humpback Whales (SPLASH) from 2004-2006, adding nearly 1,000 additional samples to the 1,800 published previously (Baker et al. 2013). Following review of initial modeling
efforts following SC68c and subsequent discussion by the Working Group on the Comprehensive Assessment, we have updated these mixed-stock analyses to include microsatellite genotypes and to focus
on four scenarios, two for stratification of breeding regions and two for stratification of feeding areas. We also included a ?reverse? mixed-stock analysis with mtDNA, in which the feeding areas were considered
to be the source stocks. The results presented here, including those presented previously, have been made available for modeling efforts intended for the Comprehensive Assessment (Cheeseman et al. 2022)
