I am posting this paper for Peter Best. Please send all requests for reprints to Peter (pbest@iziko.org.za) NOT to me! - Phil Clapham BIOPSYING SOUTHERN RIGHT WHALES: THEIR REACTIONS AND EFFECTS ON REPRODUCTION PETER B. BEST,1,2 Mammal Research Institute, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South Africa DESRAY REEB, Mammal Research Institute, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South Africa MARY BETH REW, Ecosystem Science Division, Department of Environmental Science, Policy & Management, University of California at Berkeley, 151 Hilgard Hall #3110, Berkeley, CA 94720-3110, USA PER J. PALSB�LL, Ecosystem Science Division, Department of Environmental Science, Policy & Management, University of California at Berkeley, 151 Hilgard Hall #3110, Berkeley, CA 94720-3110, USA CATHY SCHAEFF, Biology Department, American University, 4400 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, D.C. 20016, USA ANABELA BRAND�O, Marine Resource Assessment and Management Group, Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, 7701 South Africa ABSTRACT Collecting skin biopsies from large whales for genetic analysis is often subject to national permit, and in the case of cow-calf pairs, it may be prohibited. We present results of 906 biopsy attempts on southern right whales (Eubalaena australis) in South African waters between 1995 and 1997, including 147 cow-calf pairs. Our sampling success was higher for biopsy darts with a bore of 4 mm compared to 4.6 mm. Contact periods averaged 17.7 min for cow-calf pairs and 25.4 min for whales unaccompanied by calves. There were no significant differences in the short-term reactions of males and females to biopsying, but the reaction of single animals of either sex was greater than for larger groups. Cows accompanied by calves had the strongest reactions, which were significantly greater than even single females. We found evidence of sensitization to repeat biopsying (over periods of hours to 65 days) for cows but not calves (n = 20). We compared the subsequent reproductive history of 117 biopsied cows with that of 163 unbiopsied cows from the same years, and we compared the distribution of calving intervals for biopsied animals with 829 intervals recorded from 1985-1995. We did not detect any adverse effects on the proportion of successful reproductive cycles, and hence calf survival, or the proportion of longer-than-normal cycles; although, the power of all the statistical tests was low. We concluded that any prohibition on the biopsy sampling of cow-calf pairs should be carefully reconsidered in the light of the valuable enetic insights such sampling could achieve. -- Phillip J. Clapham, Ph.D. Alaska Fisheries Science Center National Marine Mammal Laboratory 7600 Sand Point Way NE, Building 4 Seattle, WA 98115 tel (206) 526-4037 fax (206) 526-6615 email: phillip.clapham@noaa.gov