Bayas R. (PUCE), Cristina Castro (Pacific Whale Foundation), Fernando Felix (PUCE), Daniel Chavez (PUCE)</p><p>Population Genomics of the Ecuadorian blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus). 2024. In prep</p><p>Rapid sequencing of the critically endangered Balaenoptera musculus. Recognizing that small, isolated populations often experience decreased fitness due to inbreeding depression has shaped conservation strategies for many years. In contrast, long-term small population size results in a reduced burden of strongly deleterious recessive alleles, providing a mechanism for the absence of inbreeding depression. In collaboration with Pacific Whale Foundation, we will use WGS data on several Balaenoptera musculus samples to assess the effects of isolation. In particular, we will evaluate ROH and the proportion of highly deleterious mutations and run simulations with SLim to determine if the Blue whale is a long-term isolated population subject to purging selection of harmful variation or if this isolated population is highly inbred in risk of extinction.