Evidence of unidirectional hybridization and second-generation adult hybrid between the two largest animals on Earth, the fin and blue whales.

ABSTRACT: Biodiversity in the oceans has dramatically declined since the beginning of the industrial era, with accelerated loss of marine biodiversity impairing the ocean's capacity to maintain vital ecosystem services. A few organisms epitomize the damaging and long-lasting effects of anthropogenic exploitation: Some whale species, for instance, were brought to the brink of extinction, with their population sizes reduced to such low levels that may have caused a significant disruption to their reproductive dynamics and facilitated hybridization events. The incidence of hybridization is nevertheless believed to be rare, and very little information exists on its directionality. Here, using genetic markers, we show that all but one whale hybrid sample collected in Icelandic waters originated from the

SUBMITTER: Pampoulie C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7896702 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature