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Population Genetics of Hudson Bay Marine Mammals: Current Knowledge and Future Risks

  • Chapter
A Little Less Arctic

Abstract

Hudson Bay has experienced, and is predicted to further undergo, significant environmental changes that may affect the distribution of marine mammals. These changes will affect gene flow among regions within the greater Hudson Bay ecosystem, as well as between Hudson Bay and the rest of the Arctic. Currently, there are few genetic studies that include marine mammals from Hudson Bay, even though this area is critical to understanding how Arctic species will adjust to climate changes. Within this region, some marine mammals may become extirpated or isolated (e.g., southern Hudson Bay polar bears), while other species may expand their ranges (e.g., killer whales, harbour seals) as a result of warmer temperatures. Researchers and the public should view the greater Hudson Bay ecosystem as an early warning system for the larger Arctic ecosystem. For population geneticists, marine mammals pose a unique challenge because they show little differentiation over large spatial scales due to: large historical population sizes; high mobility; seasonal migration; and breeding patterns that promote gene flow. Genetic monitoring programs need to take these factors into account in order to be effective. If designed carefully, these programs can be used to track changes in marine mammal populations that result from climate change. We survey current genetic data collected from marine mammals in Hudson Bay and suggest possible trajectories that may result from temporal shifts in ice thaw and decreasing overall ice cover. We also comment on sampling strategies that will allow for the effective monitoring of genetic changes.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    In this chapter, we use the terms management unit, population, and stock in two ways: when referring to one particular species and when speaking more generally about Arctic mammals. The first use of these terms reflects the fact that several stakeholder groups are involved in the conservation and management of species in the greater Hudson Bay ecosystem. Since each of these groups uses different objectives and analyses to define biologically meaningful units, the terms used to describe these units will vary from species to species. For example, polar bears are defined according to management units that may include more than one genetic population because they correspond primarily to demographic boundaries, while beluga whales are managed as stocks that roughly coincide with both demographic and genetic population boundaries and bowhead whales are managed as a single population because numerous data support this as a meaningful biological unit. The second use of these terms will be a more general classification, where management units are considered jurisdictional, populations are genetic populations, and stocks are groupings that are affected by humans (e.g., harvested) and exist below the population level (i.e., meta-populations, groups with a learned behaviour like summering ground locations). An interesting discussion regarding the definition of stock can be found in Stewart (2008).

  2. 2.

    Heterozygosity is a measure of genetic variability.

  3. 3.

    The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) considers these units to be populations while the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Nunavut, and Quebec (Nunavik) considers them to be stocks.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Fisheries and Oceans Canada, 501 University Crescent, Winnipeg, Manitoba, MB, R3T 2N6, Canada

    S. D. Petersen

  2. Ducks Unlimited Canada, Oak Hammock Marsh Conservation Centre, Stonewall, Manitoba, R0C 2Z0, Canada

    M. Hainstock

  3. Natural Resources DNA Profiling and Forensic Centre, Biology Department & Forensic Science Program, Trent University, Peterborough, Ontario, K9J 7B8, Canada

    P. J. Wilson

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  1. S. D. Petersen
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  2. M. Hainstock
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  3. P. J. Wilson
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Correspondence to S. D. Petersen .

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  1. Fisheries and Oceans Canada, University of Manitoba Freshwater Institute, 501 University Crescent, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3T 2N6, Canada

    Steven H. Ferguson

  2. Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Freshwater Institute, 501 University Crescent, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3T 2N6, Canada

    Lisa L. Loseto

  3. Environment Canada, Canadian Wildlife Service, 1714, Iqaluit, Nunavut, X0A 0H0, Canada

    Mark L. Mallory

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Petersen, S.D., Hainstock, M., Wilson, P.J. (2010). Population Genetics of Hudson Bay Marine Mammals: Current Knowledge and Future Risks. In: Ferguson, S.H., Loseto, L.L., Mallory, M.L. (eds) A Little Less Arctic. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-9121-5_12

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