{"id":35984,"date":"2024-02-22T12:21:26","date_gmt":"2024-02-22T11:21:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/01c596df-0c01-4814-bea5-62009eff20fa"},"modified":"2024-02-22T12:35:39","modified_gmt":"2024-02-22T11:35:39","slug":"blue-and-fin-whales-are-breeding-to-create-fertile-hybrids-finds-study","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/rss_feed\/blue-and-fin-whales-are-breeding-to-create-fertile-hybrids-finds-study\/","title":{"rendered":"Blue and fin whales are breeding to create fertile hybrids, finds study"},"content":{"rendered":"

A new study finds that North Atlantic blue and fin whales have been mating and producing fertile cross-breeds. <\/p>

By Megan Shersby\n <\/p>

Published: Thursday, 22 February 2024 at 11:21 AM<\/p>

\n\n

An examination of\u00a0blue whale<\/a>\u00a0genetics has revealed that the world\u2019s largest animals have been breeding with\u00a0fin whales<\/a>. Not only that, but the resulting hybrids are fertile.<\/p>

During a study published in\u00a0Conservation Genetics<\/em><\/a>,\u00a0<\/em>researchers analysed the genomes of the North Atlantic blue whale subspecies, a group that is still in recovery following extensive whaling in the past, discovering relatively high levels of fin whale DNA.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>

Although it has been known that the two species could create hybrids, often called flue whales, it was only recently found that these hybrids were fertile. <\/p>

Researchers found that fin whale DNA had been introduced into the blue whale (pictured) population. Credit: Getty<\/figcaption><\/figure>

By mating with blue whales, fin whale DNA is introduced into the blue whale population in a process known as introgression.\u00a0<\/p>

Strangely, this introgression only seems to be going one way, from fin whales to blue whales, as the hybrids don\u2019t appear to be mating with fin whales. <\/p>

\u201cWe don\u2019t know why introgression appears unidirectional,\u201d says Mark Engstrom, co-author on the study, \u201cbut it may be related to reproductive behaviour and mating activities of the two species, and also possibly with the much larger numbers of fin whale individuals (and in this case specifically males) compared to the smaller population size of blues.\u201d<\/p>

Engstrom adds that this hybridisation and introgression isn\u2019t currently a cause for alarm but should be monitored going forward.<\/p>

\"Fin
The study suggests that the hybridisation and introgression isn\u2019t currently a cause for alarm for fin (pictured) or blue whales. Credit: Getty<\/figcaption><\/figure>