Bowhead whale single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) loci and genotypes, Bering Sea, 2005-2010, Morin, P.

Bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus) were hunted to near extinction in the North Pacific early in the previous century,
but population sizes have recovered substantially since cessation of commercial hunting. Aboriginal hunting in both Russia and
Alaska continues, however, and proper management requires better understanding of stock structure. Studies of mitochondrial DNA
(control region) and microsatellites indicated possible stock structure. A new type of genetic marker, single nucleotide polymorphisms
(SNPs), is becoming a valuable tool for assessing genetic diversity in wild populations. SNP technology allows efficient and cost
effective genotyping of many loci and/or modern or historical samples. We examined differentiation between populations of bowhead
whales using SNP genotyping in combination with traditional mitochondrial and nuclear microsatellite data. We developed 42 bowhead
SNP assays included 17 independent SNPs and 25 linked SNPs. Sampled populations of bowheads included Okhotsk Sea (n= 47),
Bering/Chukchi/Beaufort Seas (BCB) (n=483) (including 62 historical bone and baleen samples), and Hudson Bay and Davis Strait
stocks of eastern Canada (n= 50). Population differences have been confirmed for the Okhotsk Sea and eastern Canada; comparison
with the larger BCB sample set is planned. Further analyses of substructure within the BCB stock will be conducted using the SNP
data, and in comparison to results from published mtDNA and microsatellite studies. The SNP data also constitute baseline population
genetic data for bowheads, allowing continued genetic monitoring and analysis of bowhead populations.
The data set contains a table of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) genetic loci that were discovered from sequencing bowhead whale DNA,
assays that were developed for genotyping a subset of those loci, and the genotypes generated from bowhead whale samples from the three populations. These datasets were archived as part of the North Pacific Research Board legacy project recovery effort undertaken by Axiom Data Science and NPRB in 2025. The goal of the recovery effort was to assess the NPRB-funded data projects from 2002 to 2014 and archive final data packages that were ready for publication to increase long-term accessibility and discoverability. Data packages were archived as is given limited funding and resources.