Question

Think about how all the northern right whales currently alive are the product of only three different females. Why does it matter that we know this? What importance might this have to scientists as they try to develop strategies to help the right whales build up their numbers?

Answer 1

Well, since there is little genetic variation, all the animals in the population are fairly similar, from a purely physical standpoint. Therefore, if there was some new form of whale lice that kills northern right whales, then presumably at least nearly 1/3 of the population would be vulnerable to this new form of whale lice. This is over simplified, but in essence a huge portion of the population is much more vulnerable to a single threat due to common disease resistances, or the lack thereof.