3.3.2 Treemix
The genetic relationship visualized using TREEMIX (Fig. 2D) indicated
that all of the NA blue whales were allied and distinct from the
Antarctic blue whale. The NEA and the NWA blue whales formed a single
group. Four of the NWA blue whales (NW-M6, NWa-R4, NWa3 and NWa4) were
more closely related to each other than to the other NA blue whales. The
Antarctic blue whale did not share significant alleles with any of the
present-day NA whales as indicated from the lack of migration events
between the Antarctic and any of the NA blue whales. The migration
events show gene flow between NW-M6 to NW9 and NE-Ar to NE71, which
indicates that blue whales share more alleles with individuals within
the same geographic regions. The gene flow indicated by the migration
events between the whales were also confirmed using D-statistics.