GENETIC-EVIDENCE FOR MIGRATION OF MALES BETWEEN SCHOOLS OF THE LONG-FINNED PILOT WHALE GLOBICEPHALA-MELAS

The genetic variation at 3 polymorphic allozyme loci was investigated in a population sample comprising approximately 650 individuals of the long-finned pilot whale Globicephala melas caught in the Faroe Islands. The sample consisted of pregnant females (carrying foetuses), non-pregnant females and males. The genetic variation was analyzed with a selection component analysis. At 2 of the loci the hypothesis of no male reproductive selection was rejected. It was concluded that the fathers of the foetuses differed genotypically from the males found in the schools, indicating that males migrate between schools to mate.