The Institute of Cetacean Research
- You are here:
- Home>
- English Sitemap>
- RESEARCH>
- Research Activities>
- Cetacean biology
Cetacean biology
This research section conducts analyses of whale biological parameters related to reproduction and survivorship such as age/length distributions, age/length at maturity, pregnancy and mortality rates, among others. Some of these biological parameters are used in population dynamic models employed for assessment and determination of the status of the whale populations by the population dynamics section.
Samples used for the estimation of biological parameters include earplugs for age determination, testis and ovaries for determination of sexual maturity and estimation of reproductive history, fetus for reproductive studies and body length for growth studies. This section also engages in improving sampling methodology and analytical approaches based on those lethal-based samplings.
The section collaborates with the genetic ecology section in developing the epigenetic technique for age determination in whales based on biopsy samples; and with the environmental chemistry section in developing a technique to determine reproductive status of female whales based on the level of progesterone in biopsy samples, and in developing the aspartic acid racemization (AAR) technique to determine age in whales based on whale eye samples.