**5. General conclusions**

Many genetic studies on minke whales were conducted in the last 20 years. New taxonomic information post-1998 relates primarily to the Southern Hemisphere common minke whales (dwarf minke whales) from the western South Pacific and western South Atlantic, which are differentiated by both mtDNA and msDNA markers. The paraphyletic relationship between the North Atlantic and Southern Hemisphere (WSA) common minke whale has important implications for the taxonomic definition of common minke whales. Regarding population genetic structure, at least two populations of the Antarctic minke whale have been identified in the Indo-Pacific sector of the Antarctic, and at least two populations were confirmed in the western North Pacific common minke whales. In the North Atlantic genetic studies suggest that population structure, should it exist, is rather subtle. As for the North Pacific and Southern Hemisphere, analyses are hindered by a lack of knowledge (and thus samples from) breeding grounds.

The population structure of minke whales is intertwined with some degree of fidelity to specific feeding grounds. This fidelity could vary depending on changing short- and long-term environmental conditions. In the case of the Antarctic minke whales, the pattern of distribution and movement of different populations in the feeding grounds has been related with the distribution of their key prey species, the krill (*Euphausia superba*), which in turn depends on the bottom topography as well sea ice and hydrographic features [12]. A similar story has been identified for both the North Atlantic and North Pacific and it is not surprising that feeding ground distribution reflects prey distribution. Future studies on population structure and distribution of minke whales should consider information on environmental variables especially under a scenario of climate change.
