FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Post-Doctoral
Research Conducted at Trent University Provides First Genetic Confirmation of
Adoption in Wild Marine Mammals
Dr. Timothy Frasier’s
research leads to discovery of two
North Atlantic Right
Whale calves switched at birth
Friday, April 30,
2010,
Research
conducted by Dr. Timothy Frasier during his time as a post-doctoral fellow at
The
study entitled “Reciprocal Exchange and Subsequent Adoption of Calves by Two
North Atlantic Right Whales (Eubalaena glacialis),” and recently published in Aquatic Mammals, explains how, during a
project to create a right whale family tree by linking right whale DNA data
with the New England Aquarium Right Whale Catalog’s long-term
photo-identification data, the genetic profiles of two mothers were found to
mismatch their calves. After a thorough investigation to eliminate the
possibility of error, the researchers confidently believe that this is indeed a
case of North Atlantic right whales switched at birth, also known as a
confirmed case of a double adoption.
“This
swap was likely an accident caused by the females calving in close spatial and
temporal proximity,” explained Dr. Frasier, who is currently an adjunct
professor in the Biology Department at Trent University and a faculty member at
Saint Mary’s University. “The calves likely associated with the wrong mothers
before any mother-offspring recognition system had developed, and an
association then formed between these non-biological mother-offspring pairs.
These data raise intriguing questions regarding how often this may occur in
other wildlife populations, what mechanisms are used for mother-offspring
recognition in whales, and how long it takes for this recognition to develop.”
Research
for the study was conducted by Dr. Frasier in the Natural Resources DNA
Profiling & Forensic Centre (NRDPFC) labs in Trent’s
state-of-the-art DNA Building.
In
describing the important role the facilities at Trent played in his research,
Dr. Frasier said: “This species is critically endangered and also has extremely
low levels of genetic diversity. In order to conduct this work we had to
screen and analyze each sample at a very large number of molecular
markers. To do this in an efficient and cost-effective manner requires the
latest technology and equipment available for genetic work. Trent
University’s laboratory is one of the most advanced genetic labs in Canada, and
therefore had the resources required to make this project successful and
efficient.”
“Trent
hosts the DNA database for this endangered species,” said Dr. Bradley White,
chair of the Biology Department and leader of the right whale genetic project
since its beginning in 1988. “We have about 70 per cent of the entire species
as DNA samples held at Trent. This resource is absolutely priceless and allows
us to track family trees like the adoption case. I think the DNA bank may be
the most valuable part of Trent University from a world significance point of
view.”
Dr.
Frasier was drawn to Trent for his post-doctoral position to work with Dr.
White. “My post-doctoral work with Dr. White while at Trent involved developing
all of the molecular techniques needed to genetically analyze this species, and
then apply those data to building the family tree,” Dr. Frasier said. “We are
now using this information to better understand the reproductive biology of
this species, as well as to assess the potential role that genetic factors
could be having on species recovery.”
During
his time at Trent working alongside Dr. White, Dr. Frasier also studied the
genetics of the Indo Pacific humpback dolphins found along the western coast of
Taiwan. The work resulted in the dolphins being recognized as a critically
endangered population by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature
(IUCN). He was a member of a research team led by Dr. White that travelled to
the National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium in southern Taiwan to
present critical DNA research in the second International Symposium and
Workshop on the Conservation and Research Needs of the Indo- Pacific Dolphins,
held in September 2007. In May 2010, Dr. Frasier will lead the Trent Mammal
Course, Dolphin and Whale Biology and
Conservation in Tropical Asia in Taiwan next month. Through this course, 19
Ontario students will earn credit conducting field work that investigates
conservation issues facing marine mammals in Asia and throughout the world.
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For more information, please contact:
Dr.
Timothy Frasier, Adjunct Professor,
Dr.
Bradley White, Chair, Biology Department,