Validation of a blubber-based endocrine pregnancy test for humpback whales.

ABSTRACT: Baleen whales have few identifiable external indicators of pregnancy state, making it challenging to study essential aspects of their biology and population dynamics. Pregnancy status in other marine mammals has been determined by measuring progesterone concentrations from a variety of sample matrices, but logistical constraints have limited such studies in free-swimming baleen whales. We use an extensive blubber sample archive and associated calving history data to retrospectively identify samples that correspond to pregnant females and develop a progesterone-based pregnancy test for humpback whales. The lowest pregnant blubber progesterone concentration was 54.97 ng g-1, and the mean for the known-pregnant group was 198.74 ± 180.65 ng g-1. Conversely, females known to be below the minimu

SUBMITTER: Pallin L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6009693 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature