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opencc-zeroDec 2023View details →

Data and R code from: Fin whale song evolution in the North Atlantic

Animal songs can change within and between populations as the result of different evolutionary processes. When these processes include cultural transmission, the social learning of information or behaviours from conspecifics, songs can undergo rapid evolutions because cultural novelties can emerge more frequently than genetic mutations. Understanding these song variations over large temporal and spatial scales can provide insights into the patterns, drivers and limits of song evolution that can ultimately inform on the species' capacity to adapt to rapidly changing acoustic environments. In this study, we analysed changes in fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) songs recorded over two decades (1999–2020) across the central and eastern North Atlantic Ocean. We document a rapid replacement of song INIs (inter-note intervals) over just four singing seasons (2000/2001–2004/2005) in the southeast location of the Oceanic Northeast Atlantic (ONA) region, that co-occurred with hybrid songs (with both INIs). During the transition in song INIs (2002/2003) we show a clear geographic gradient in the occurrence of different song INIs in the whole ONA region. We also found gradual changes in song INIs (Figure 3A) and 20-Hz note (Figure 3B) and HF note (Figure 3C) peak frequencies over more than a decade with fin whales adopting song changes. These results provide evidence of vocal learning in fin whales and reveal patterns of song evolution that raise questions on the limits of song variation in this species.

Fig. 5 in A new diminutive fossil ziphiid from the deep-sea floor off northern Chile and some remarks on the body size evolution and palaeobiogeography of the beaked whales

Fig. 5. Comparison of the rostra and posterior portion of the neurocrania in dorsal view of two beaked whales. A. The holotype of Ihlengesi changoensis sp. nov. (MUAP(MM)-068) from the sea floor off Pisagua, Northern Chile; Plio-Pleistocene. B. The paratype of Ihlengesi saldanhae (SAM PQ 69673) from the sea floor off Saldanha Bay, South Africa; age unknown.

Fig. 1. A in A new diminutive fossil ziphiid from the deep-sea floor off northern Chile and some remarks on the body size evolution and palaeobiogeography of the beaked whales

Fig. 1. A. Schematic map providing the position of Pisagua in South America. B. Schematic map of Northern Chile coast around Pisagua and sea floor bathymetry showing approximative discovery locality of the holotype MUAP(MM)-068 cranium of the beaked whale Ihlengesi changoensis sp. nov. at a depth of 1000 m (star).

Fig. 7 in A new diminutive fossil ziphiid from the deep-sea floor off northern Chile and some remarks on the body size evolution and palaeobiogeography of the beaked whales

Fig. 7. Body size evolution amongst ziphiids. The tree is the single most parsimonious as presented in Fig. 6. (E) genera with extant species. See text and Lambert et al. (2013: fig. 16) for details.

Fig. 3 in A new diminutive fossil ziphiid from the deep-sea floor off northern Chile and some remarks on the body size evolution and palaeobiogeography of the beaked whales

Fig. 3. Comparison of the neurocrania and the posterior portion of the rostra in dorsal view in two beaked whales. A. The holotype of Ihlengesi changoensis sp. nov. (MUAP(MM)-068) from the sea floor off Pisagua, Northern Chile; Plio-Pleistocene. B. The holotype of Ihlengesi saldanhae (SAM PQ 2792) from the sea floor off Saldanha Bay, South Africa; age unknown.

Fig. 4 in A new diminutive fossil ziphiid from the deep-sea floor off northern Chile and some remarks on the body size evolution and palaeobiogeography of the beaked whales

Fig. 4. Comparison of the crania in anterior view of the holotype of three beaked whales. A. Ihlengesi changoensis sp. nov. (MUAP(MM)-068) from the sea floor off Pisagua, Northern Chile; Plio-Pleistocene. B. The holotype of Ihlengesi saldanhae (SAM PQ 2792) from the sea floor off Saldanha Bay, South Africa; age unknown. C. The holotype Khoikhoicetus agulhasis (SAM PQ 2678) from the sea floor off Cape Agulhas, South Africa; age unknown. Diagonal lines represent broken surfaces.

Fig. 6 in A new diminutive fossil ziphiid from the deep-sea floor off northern Chile and some remarks on the body size evolution and palaeobiogeography of the beaked whales

Fig. 6. Single most parsimonious tree of the heuristic search with downweighted homoplastic characters (K = 3) showing the relationships of Ihlengesi changoensis sp. nov. (in bold) with the other ziphiids. Numbers associated with branches are bootstrap values. (E) genera with extant species. See text, Appendix 1, and Bianucci et al. (2016b) for data matrix and description of characters.

Fig. 8 in A new diminutive fossil ziphiid from the deep-sea floor off northern Chile and some remarks on the body size evolution and palaeobiogeography of the beaked whales

Fig. 8. Geographic distribution of the main fossils of ziphiids recovered from the seafloor of the Southern Hemisphere. Data from: 1, this study; 2, Ichishima et al. (2017); 3, Bianucci et al. (2006, 2007); 4, Lambert et al. (2018); 5, Gol'din and Vishnyakova (2013).

Fig. 2 in A new diminutive fossil ziphiid from the deep-sea floor off northern Chile and some remarks on the body size evolution and palaeobiogeography of the beaked whales

Fig. 2. Holotype of the beaked whale Ihlengesi changoensis sp. nov. (MUAP(MM)-068) from the sea floor off Pisagua, Northern Chile; Plio-Pleistocene. Cranium in dorsal (A1), right lateral (A2), and ventral (A3) views.

Figure 1. Diagnostic characteristics identifying NMV P252567 in Suction feeding preceded filtering in baleen whale evolution

Figure 1. Diagnostic characteristics identifying NMV P252567 as an aetiocetid. A, explanatory line drawing of the skull; B, photograph of the skull (left) and mandible (right), both in dorsal view.

Figure 3 in Suction feeding preceded filtering in baleen whale evolution

Figure 3. Additional teeth of NMV P252567. A, left upper incisor; B, right upper incisor; C, double-rooted postcanine 4. All teeth are shown in lingual (left) and labial (right) views. The lack or comparatively small degree of wear on the incisors suggests they may have been largely (left upper incisor) or partially (right upper incisor) enclosed within the gingiva, protecting them from the abrasive wear that affected the other teeth. A fifth double-rooted postcanine closely resembles postcanines 2 and 4 in terms of its wear, but is still partially encased in sediment and hence not shown here.

Figure 5 in Suction feeding preceded filtering in baleen whale evolution

Figure 5. Suction feeding precedes baleen filtering in mysticete evolution. A, consensus tree of aetiocetid evolutionary relationships, based on all cladistic studies published to date (e.g. Deméré and Berta, 2008; Deméré et al., 2008; Fitzgerald, 2010; Geisler and Sanders, 2003; Marx and Fordyce, 2015; Steeman, 2007), showing major feeding-related synapomorphies; B, life reconstructions (top) and skulls (in lateral view) of a representative archaeocete (Dorudon atrox), aetiocetid (NMV P252567), eomysticetid (Yamatocetus canaliculatus) and extant suction feeding mysticete (grey whale, Eschrichtius robustus); C, inferred behaviours and feeding strategies. Life reconstructions by Carl Buell.

Figure 2 in Suction feeding preceded filtering in baleen whale evolution

Figure 2. Wear patterns on representative teeth of NMV P252567, suggesting suction feeding in an aetiocetid. A, left upper canine or first premolar; B, double-rooted postcanine 1; C,?lower double-rooted postcanine 2; D,?lower double-rooted postcanine 3; E, micro-computed tomography cross section of postcanine 1, showing the depth and rounded edges of the horizontal striations (marked by large black arrows). A–C are shown in lingual, labial and anterior/posterior view, D in lingual view only.

Figure 4 in Suction feeding preceded filtering in baleen whale evolution

Figure 4. Cross section of the rostrum and lower jaws of A, a balaenid, B, a balaenopterid, and C, an aetiocetid, illustrating the relative movement of the mandible during jaw closure (red arrows). All drawings show the mouth slightly open. In right whales (A) and rorquals (B), the laterally bowed mandibles and/or tall lower lips rotate inwards on to the labial surface of the baleen plates, thereby leaving the rack intact. In aetiocetids (C), the movement of the mandible is mostly vertical and the upper and lower jaws need to approach each other enough to allow the teeth to occlude, thereby risking interference with any baleen present. A and B are adapted from Pivorunas (1979: fig. 3).

opencc-zeroFeb 2023View details →

Data from: Genomics reveals the role of admixture in the evolution of structure among sperm whale populations within the Mediterranean Sea

In oceanic ecosystems, the nature of barriers to gene flow, and the processes by which populations may become isolated are different from the terrestrial environment, and less well understood. In this study, we investigate a highly mobile species (the sperm whale, Physeter macrocephalus) that is genetically differentiated between an open North Atlantic population and the populations in the Mediterranean Sea. We apply high-resolution single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) analysis to study the nature of barriers to gene flow in this system, comparing gene flow across the putative boundary into the Mediterranean (Strait of Gibraltar and Alboran Sea region) with novel analyses on structuring among sperm whale populations within the Mediterranean basin. Our data support a recent founding of the Mediterranean, around the time of the last glacial maximum, and shows concerted historical demographic profiles in both the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. In each region, there is evidence for a population decline around the time of the founder event, more extreme within the Mediterranean Sea where effective population size is substantially lower. While differentiation is strongest at the Atlantic/Mediterranean boundary, there is also significant differentiation between the Eastern and Western basins of the Mediterranean Sea. We propose, however, that the mechanisms are different. While post-founding gene flow was reduced between the Mediterranean and Atlantic populations, within the Mediterranean an important factor differentiating the basins is likely a greater degree of admixture between the Western basin and the North Atlantic.

opencc-zeroMar 2023View details →

Supporting Data for: The genome of the pygmy right whale illuminates the evolution of rorquals

<a name="_Hlk108424880"></a>Background Baleen whales are a clade of gigantic and highly specialized marine mammals. Their genomes have been used to investigate their complex evolutionary history and to decipher the molecular mechanisms that allowed them to reach these dimensions. However, many unanswered questions remain, especially about the early radiation of rorquals and how cancer resistance interplays with their huge number of cells. The pygmy right whale is the smallest and most elusive among the baleen whales. It reaches only a fraction of the body length compared to its relatives and it is the only living member of an otherwise extinct family. This placement makes the pygmy right whale genome an interesting target to update the complex phylogenetic past of baleen whales, because it splits up an otherwise long branch that leads to the radiation of rorquals. Apart from that, genomic data of this species might help to investigate cancer resistance in large whales, since these mechanisms are not as important for the pygmy right whale as in other giant rorquals and right whales. Results Here, we present a first de novo genome of the species and test its potential in phylogenomics and cancer research. To do so, we constructed a multi-species coalescent tree from fragments of a whole-genome alignment and quantified the amount of introgression in the early evolution of rorquals. Furthermore, a genome wide comparison of selection rates between large and small bodied baleen whales revealed a small set of conserved candidate genes with potential connections to cancer resistance. Conclusions Our results suggest that the evolution of rorquals is best described as a hard polytomy with a rapid radiation and high levels of introgression. The lack of shared positive selected genes between different large-bodied whale species supports a previously proposed convergent evolution of gigantism and hence cancer resistance in baleen whales.

publicMar 2023View details →

Supporting Data for: The genome of the pygmy right whale illuminates the evolution of rorquals

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publicFeb 2023View details →

Data from: Genomics reveals the role of admixture in the evolution of structure among sperm whale populations within the Mediterranean Sea

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