Comparison of progesterone concentrations in blubber and plasma among female Antarctic minke whales of known reproductive status

Abstract

The utility of progesterone concentration in blubber as a means of determining reproductive status in the Antarctic minke whale Balaenoptera bonaerensis was assessed through a comparative analysis of progesterone concentration in blubber and plasma among 230 female whales of known reproductive status (immature, resting, ovulating or pregnant). Whales were sampled during the austral summer in the Antarctic Ocean. The general pattern of progesterone concentration by reproductive category was well correlated between blubber and plasma samples, validating in principle the use of progesterone concentrations in blubber to determine the reproductive status of females. However, some differences were found for resting and ovulating females, which require further consideration. For blubber, overlap of progesterone concentrations was observed between reproductive categories with the exception of immature/ovulating and immature/pregnant. This result suggests that the method of using progesterone concentration in blubber cannot distinguish between pregnant and non-pregnant mature females. However, it can be used to distinguish between immature and mature females. Although a low overlap ratio in concentration was found between immature and resting females, the method is still useful for determining sexual maturity, because resting females of the Antarctic minke whale are seldom found in the Antarctic Ocean.