Overview
- Published January 21 in Frontiers in Marine Science, the peer-reviewed study analyzed 623 tissue samples collected over 13 years from Bristol Bay belugas.
- Genetic parentage shows a polygynandrous system in which both males and females mate with multiple partners across breeding seasons, producing many half-siblings rather than full-sibling cohorts.
- Males were only moderately polygynous, contradicting expectations of a few dominant sires, while females frequently switched mates between seasons.
- Despite an estimated census of roughly 2,000 whales with little mixing from other populations, researchers found relatively high genetic diversity and low observed inbreeding.
- Authors caution that mating systems can vary among beluga populations and plan follow-up work, including broader population comparisons, drone-based behavioral observation, and continued collaboration with Indigenous communities.