Understanding genetic limitations to population recovery in endangered marine mammals

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dc.contributor.advisor Frasier, Timothy, 1976-
dc.coverage.spatial Canada
dc.creator Crossman, Carla Anne
dc.date.accessioned 2024-08-28T11:58:50Z
dc.date.available 2024-08-28T11:58:50Z
dc.date.issued 2024-08-07
dc.identifier.uri http://library2.smu.ca/xmlui/handle/01/31969
dc.description 1 online resource (viii, 238 pages) : charts (some colour), graphs (some colour)
dc.description Includes abstract and appendices.
dc.description Includes bibliographical references (pages 20-29, 46-51,90-102, 134-142, 162-167, 174-175).
dc.description.abstract In small populations, genetic factors can both inhibit their recovery and provide insight into their past. Genomic tools can therefore provide a way to better understand limitations to population recovery in endangered species. In my dissertation I present four clear examples of how genomic tools can directly address questions outlined in recovery planning documents for endangered marine mammals in Canada.<br> I used methylation patterns at genomic positions that have been previously found to respond differently to stressors to demonstrate that methylation patterns may be a tangible means to quantify cumulative effects of stress in wildlife populations using resident killer whales (<i>Orcinus orca</i>) as a case study. I used whole genome sequencing to demonstrate that North Atlantic right whales (<i>Eubalaena glacialis</i>) have lived for thousands of years with smaller effective population sizes than southern right whales (<i>E. australis</i>) from the Southwest Atlantic. These results suggest that basing recovery goals in the North Atlantic on the successful recovery seen in the Southern Oceans may not be appropriate. I used ddRAD sequencing to show that in North Atlantic right whales, a female’s inbreeding coefficient did not correlate with her reproductive fecundity, however all individuals had higher heterozygosity than expected suggesting inbreeding may be leading to increased fetal loss in the population – potentially limiting the growth of the population as a whole. Finally, I designed a GTSeq panel to improve ongoing genetic monitoring of North Atlantic right whales and demonstrated its increased power to resolve familial relationships in the species.<br> Genomic tools can provide invaluable insight to directly address knowledge gaps outlined in recovery planning documents in Canada. While these provide just a few examples for a pair of endangered species, the utility of genomics to inform conservation should be better acknowledged and incorporated in recovery planning for Canada’s Species at Risk. en_CA
dc.description.provenance Submitted by Greg Hilliard (greg.hilliard@smu.ca) on 2024-08-28T11:58:49Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Crossman_Carla_PHD_2024.pdf: 3646888 bytes, checksum: 792eb176949c02c7055458acc52a69ea (MD5) en
dc.description.provenance Made available in DSpace on 2024-08-28T11:58:50Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Crossman_Carla_PHD_2024.pdf: 3646888 bytes, checksum: 792eb176949c02c7055458acc52a69ea (MD5) Previous issue date: 2024-08-07 en
dc.language.iso en en_CA
dc.publisher Halifax, N.S. : Saint Mary's University
dc.subject.lcsh Marine mammals -- Genetics -- Canada
dc.subject.lcsh Rare mammals -- Genetics -- Canada
dc.subject.lcsh Killer whale -- Genetics -- Canada
dc.subject.lcsh Northern right whale -- Genetics -- Canada
dc.subject.lcsh Marine mammals -- Reproduction -- Canada
dc.subject.lcsh Marine mammals -- Population viability analysis -- Canada
dc.title Understanding genetic limitations to population recovery in endangered marine mammals en_CA
dc.type Text en_CA
thesis.degree.name Doctor of Philosophy in Applied Science
thesis.degree.level Doctoral
thesis.degree.discipline Biology
thesis.degree.grantor Saint Mary's University (Halifax, N.S.)
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