Jooke Robbins
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View article: Genetic differentiation and population connectivity of humpback whales migrating through Aotearoa New Zealand waters
Genetic differentiation and population connectivity of humpback whales migrating through Aotearoa New Zealand waters Open
Context Historically, humpback whales migrating past Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ) were linked to western South Pacific wintering grounds and Antarctic feeding grounds. As populations have recovered, research has focused on contemporary connec…
View article: Developing robust large whale satellite tags through follow-up studies
Developing robust large whale satellite tags through follow-up studies Open
The use of satellite tags has yielded important information to better understand cetacean ecology and to improve cetacean conservation. However, tag deployment duration has been highly variable and typically shorter than their battery life…
View article: Examination of Isotopic Signals to Determine Trophic Dynamics and Diet of Gulf of Maine Mysticetes Prior to an Oceanographic Regime Shift
Examination of Isotopic Signals to Determine Trophic Dynamics and Diet of Gulf of Maine Mysticetes Prior to an Oceanographic Regime Shift Open
Stable isotope analysis (SIA) is a useful tool to assess the health and foraging habits of large marine predators, metabolic stress, pregnancy, and migration patterns. This study provides baseline SIA data for four Gulf of Maine mysticete …
View article: Remote assessment of ‘Type C’ implantable satellite tag extrusion using light sensors
Remote assessment of ‘Type C’ implantable satellite tag extrusion using light sensors Open
Advances in engineering and long‐term monitoring projects have greatly increased the sophistication of cetacean biologging methods and technology. While implantable cetacean tags naturally extrude and eventually fall off, satellite tag dur…
View article: Phylogenomics and Pervasive Genome-Wide Phylogenetic Discordance Among Fin Whales (<i>Balaenoptera physalus</i>)
Phylogenomics and Pervasive Genome-Wide Phylogenetic Discordance Among Fin Whales (<i>Balaenoptera physalus</i>) Open
Phylogenomics has the power to uncover complex phylogenetic scenarios across the genome. In most cases, no single topology is reflected across the entire genome as the phylogenetic signal differs among genomic regions due to processes, suc…
View article: Whale Baleen To Monitor Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in Marine Environments
Whale Baleen To Monitor Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in Marine Environments Open
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) comprise > 10,000 synthetic compounds that are globally distributed and highly persistent but remain challenging to monitor. Here we assess the utility of baleen-an accreting, keratinaceous tissue…
View article: Acoustic behavior of humpback whale calves on the feeding ground: Comparisons across age and implications for vocal development
Acoustic behavior of humpback whale calves on the feeding ground: Comparisons across age and implications for vocal development Open
Studying sound production at different developmental stages can provide insight into the processes involved in vocal ontogeny. Humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae) are a known vocal learning species, but their vocal development is poo…
View article: Sociality in pre- and post-wean beef calves
Sociality in pre- and post-wean beef calves Open
Bonding between beef cows and their calves is well established; however, social relationships between calves is less understood. In wild ungulates, young calf integration into the natal herd is typically facilitated by its dam based in pa…
View article: Effects of satellite-linked telemetry tags on humpback whales in the Gulf of Maine: Photographic assessment of tag sites
Effects of satellite-linked telemetry tags on humpback whales in the Gulf of Maine: Photographic assessment of tag sites Open
Hundreds of large whales have been tracked using consolidated (Type‐C) satellite tags, yet there have been few studies on their impacts on whale health. In 2011, we initiated the first study designed to evaluate the effects of these tags o…
View article: Baleen whale microsatellite panel for individual identification and parentage assignment in Mysticeti
Baleen whale microsatellite panel for individual identification and parentage assignment in Mysticeti Open
DATA AVAILABILITY : Data and scripts are available in Zenodo https://zenodo.org/doi/10.5281/zenodo.10948827
View article: Caller identification and characterization of individual humpback whale acoustic behaviour
Caller identification and characterization of individual humpback whale acoustic behaviour Open
Acoustic recording tags provide fine-scale data linking acoustic signalling with individual behaviour; however, when an animal is in a group, it is challenging to tease apart calls of conspecifics and identify which individuals produce eac…
View article: Effects of Satellite-Linked Telemetry Tags on Humpback Whales in the Gulf of Maine: Photographic Assessment of Tag Sites
Effects of Satellite-Linked Telemetry Tags on Humpback Whales in the Gulf of Maine: Photographic Assessment of Tag Sites Open
Hundreds of large whales have been tracked using consolidated (Type-C) satellite tags, yet there have been few studies on their impacts on whale health. In 2011, we initiated the first study designed to evaluate the effects of these tags i…
View article: Before and after delisting: population dynamics of North Atlantic humpback whales over two decades in the Gulf of Maine
Before and after delisting: population dynamics of North Atlantic humpback whales over two decades in the Gulf of Maine Open
Whales are long-lived, slow-reproducing species that were decimated by commercial whaling. Although some populations seem close to recovery, others are challenging to assess. We studied humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) in the Gul…
View article: Caller identification and characterization of individual humpback whale acoustic behavior
Caller identification and characterization of individual humpback whale acoustic behavior Open
Acoustic recording tags are biologging tools that provide fine scale data linking acoustic signaling with individual behavior; however, when an animal is in a group, it is challenging to tease apart calls of other conspecifics and identify…
View article: Vulnerability to climate change of United States marine mammal stocks in the western North Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean
Vulnerability to climate change of United States marine mammal stocks in the western North Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean Open
Climate change and climate variability are affecting marine mammal species and these impacts are projected to continue in the coming decades. Vulnerability assessments provide a framework for evaluating climate impacts over a broad range o…
View article: PHFinder: assisted detection of point heteroplasmy in Sanger sequencing chromatograms
PHFinder: assisted detection of point heteroplasmy in Sanger sequencing chromatograms Open
Heteroplasmy is the presence of two or more organellar genomes (mitochondrial or plastid DNA) in an organism, tissue, cell or organelle. Heteroplasmy can be detected by visual inspection of Sanger sequencing chromatograms, where it appears…
View article: Wild pedigrees inform mutation rates and historic abundance in baleen whales
Wild pedigrees inform mutation rates and historic abundance in baleen whales Open
Phylogeny-based estimates suggesting a low germline mutation rate (μ) in baleen whales have influenced research ranging from assessments of whaling impacts to evolutionary cancer biology. We estimated μ directly from pedigrees in four bale…
View article: Population identity of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in the waters of the US mid-Atlantic states
Population identity of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in the waters of the US mid-Atlantic states Open
In recent years, humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) have been observed in the waters of the US mid-Atlantic states (USMA; New Jersey to North Carolina), notably in winter. The level of the mortality in this area (52 recorded deaths f…
View article: Universal baleen whale microsatellite panel for individual identification and power to detect parentage
Universal baleen whale microsatellite panel for individual identification and power to detect parentage Open
Highly polymorphic single tandem repeat loci (STR, also known as microsatellite loci) remain a familiar, cost efficient class of markers for genetic analyses in ecology, behavior and conservation. We characterize a new universal set of ten…
View article: Abundance and demographic parameters of humpback whales from the Gulf of Maine, and stock definition relative to the Scotian Shelf
Abundance and demographic parameters of humpback whales from the Gulf of Maine, and stock definition relative to the Scotian Shelf Open
The Gulf of Maine is one of the principal summer feeding grounds for humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in the North Atlantic, and was one focus of effort in an ocean-basin-wide study known as the Years of the North Atlantic Humpback…
View article: Stock identity of a humpback whale taken in a southeastern Caribbean hunt
Stock identity of a humpback whale taken in a southeastern Caribbean hunt Open
North Atlantic humpback whales migrate annually between discrete high latitude feeding areas and shared low latitude breeding areas. St. Vincent and the Grenadines is a low density breeding area in the Lesser Antilles and the site of the o…
View article: Diversity, habitat associations and stock structure of odontocete cetaceans in the waters of American Samoa, 2003-06
Diversity, habitat associations and stock structure of odontocete cetaceans in the waters of American Samoa, 2003-06 Open
Little is known about the species composition, distribution, abundance or stock structure of odontocetes in the central and western tropical Pacific Ocean, including those inhabiting the US Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) waters of American …
View article: Antarctic waters (Area V) near the Balleny Islands are a summer feeding area for some eastern Australian Breeding Stock E(i) Humpback Whales (Megaptera novaeangliae)
Antarctic waters (Area V) near the Balleny Islands are a summer feeding area for some eastern Australian Breeding Stock E(i) Humpback Whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) Open
Discovery mark tagging provided the first evidence of linkages between eastern Australian and Oceania Humpback whale breeding grounds and the Antarctic Area V feeding areas. Early investigation of movements of humpback whales in the Wester…
View article: Photo-identification confirms that humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) from eastern Australia migrate past New Zealand but indicates low levels of interchange with breeding grounds of Oceania
Photo-identification confirms that humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) from eastern Australia migrate past New Zealand but indicates low levels of interchange with breeding grounds of Oceania Open
Recent photo-identification and genetic studies have identified at least five discrete breeding populations in Australia and Oceania: western Australia (D), eastern Australia (E (i)), New Caledonia (E (ii)), Tonga (E (iii)), French Polynes…
View article: Non-antibiotic antimicrobial polydopamine surface coating to prevent stable biofilm formation on satellite telemetry tags used in cetacean conservation applications
Non-antibiotic antimicrobial polydopamine surface coating to prevent stable biofilm formation on satellite telemetry tags used in cetacean conservation applications Open
Satellite telemetry tags, used to monitor the migratory behavior of cetaceans, have the potential to be a vehicle for infection due to their invasive nature. Antibiotic coatings have been previously employed to reduce the chances of infect…
View article: Direct estimation of genome mutation rates from pedigrees in free-ranging baleen whales
Direct estimation of genome mutation rates from pedigrees in free-ranging baleen whales Open
Current low germline mutation rate ( μ ) estimates in baleen whales have greatly influenced research ranging from assessments of whaling impacts to evolutionary cancer biology. However, the reported rates were subject to methodological err…
View article: PHFinder: Assisted detection of point heteroplasmy in Sanger sequencing chromatograms
PHFinder: Assisted detection of point heteroplasmy in Sanger sequencing chromatograms Open
Heteroplasmy is the presence of two or more organellar genomes (mitochondrial or plastid DNA) in an organism, tissue, cell or organelle. Heteroplasmy can be detected by visual inspection of Sanger sequencing chromatograms, where it appears…
View article: DNA methylation age studies of humpback whales
DNA methylation age studies of humpback whales Open
Several previous studies have described epigenetic clocks for whale and dolphin species. Here we present a novel and highly robust epigenetic clock for the humpback whale based on methylation levels measured using the Mammalian Methylation…
View article: Exploring the Use of Seabirds as a Dynamic Ocean Management Tool to Mitigate Anthropogenic Risk to Large Whales
Exploring the Use of Seabirds as a Dynamic Ocean Management Tool to Mitigate Anthropogenic Risk to Large Whales Open
Vessel strike and entanglement in fishing gear are global threats to large whales. United States management actions to reduce human-induced serious injury and mortality to large whales have been inadequate, partially due to static, spatial…
View article: Site fidelity, population identity and demographic characteristics of humpback whales in the New York Bight apex
Site fidelity, population identity and demographic characteristics of humpback whales in the New York Bight apex Open
Humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) exhibit maternally driven fidelity to feeding grounds, and yet occasionally occupy new areas. Humpback whale sightings and mortalities in the New York Bight apex (NYBA) have been increasing over t…