Scientists are using skin samples of endangered southern residents and other whales in what含羞草研究社檚 being touted as a promising new way to estimate the ages of the mammals.
It含羞草研究社檚 important to understand the life history of individual animals and how their population changes over time, but it can be difficult to accurately estimate the ages of wild beings 含羞草研究社� especially ones that live a long time as whales do 含羞草研究社� according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Researchers from NOAA含羞草研究社檚 Northwest Fisheries Science Center and other scientists used a new technique to determine whale ages before their findings were published in the scientific journal Molecular Ecology Resources in late March.
The whale age study relied on epigenetics, which explores how DNA gets modified or packaged within a cell. The researchers looked at one modification called methylation, which can switch genes on and off, and were able to assign an 含羞草研究社渆pigenetic clock含羞草研究社� to individual whales. Those estimates are expected to be within three years of a whale含羞草研究社檚 actual age.
含羞草研究社淎ccurately estimating the age of individual whales is important for understanding the health of individuals and trends in killer whale populations,含羞草研究社� the U.S. environmental agency said.
The researchers examined skin cell samples from southern and Alaska resident orcas, plus Bigg含羞草研究社檚 killer whales. It also included Fisheries and Oceans Canada allowing Indigenous hunters in Canada to collect samples from bowhead whales 含羞草研究社� one of the planet含羞草研究社檚 longest-living mammals.
Through the epigenetic approach, scientists only need small skin biopsies that can be collected using minimally invasive techniques from the living animals. Assigning the epigenetic clock is then possible thanks to the strong correlation between methylation patterns and age that含羞草研究社檚 been documented in humans and nonhuman vertebrates, according to the study.
The study also used samples of whales that have died in the past and drew from data already collected on southern residents over previous decades as there含羞草研究社檚 a detailed record of many individuals belonging to the closely watched species.
含羞草研究社淲hile we know a lot about the age structure of the southern residents, we don含羞草研究社檛 know every whale含羞草研究社檚 age,含羞草研究社� NOAA said. 含羞草研究社淢ost killer whale populations are not nearly as well-studied as killer whales in the Pacific. Epigenetic clocks can help fill in those gaps.含羞草研究社�
The epigenetics aging methodology isn含羞草研究社檛 perfect though as NOAA notes that, just like humans, the cells of other mammals can age faster or slower depending on variables in their environment, such as diet, lifestyle and stress.
Still, NOAA said the strategy is expected to help scientists monitor patterns in age-related diseases and detect changes in survival and birth rates within whale populations. Examining the epigenetic data from killer whale populations around the world is also now underway, the agency said.
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