Whales, it seems, could be worth more alive than dead, with the first peer-reviewed assessment of whale tourism's global value predicting the $US2.1 billion ($2.3 billion) industry could easily grow by 10 per cent each year over the next decade.
Some 13 million eco-tourists paid to see the animals in their natural element last year, generating 13,000 jobs for people across hundreds of coastal regions worldwide, the study found.
''We can have our whales and still benefit from them, without killing them,'' said the study's co-author, Ussif Rashid Sumaila, a researcher at the University of British Columbia.
The study coincides with a decision on Thursday by the 88-nation International Whaling Commission meeting in Morocco, to adopt a ''five-year strategic plan'' to explore both the economic benefits and ecological risks of whale-watching.
The move comes as some scientists say the marine mammals are not only smarter than previously thought but also share several attributes once claimed as exclusively human.
Self-awareness, suffering and a social culture along with high mental abilities are a hallmark of cetaceans, an order grouping more than 80 whales, dolphins and porpoises.
''We now know from field studies that a lot of the large whales exhibit some of the most complex behaviour in the animal kingdom,'' said Lori Marino, a neurobiologist at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.
A decade ago, Dr Marino conducted an experiment with bottlenose dolphins in which she placed a small mark on their body and had the mammals look at themselves in a mirror.
By the way the dolphins reacted to the image and then looked at the spot, it was clear that they had a sense of self-identity, Dr Marino determined.
For Georges Chapouthier, a neurobiologist and director of the Emotion Centre at Pierre and Marie Curie University in Paris, self-awareness means that dolphin and whales, along with some higher primates, can experience not just pain but also suffering.
Unlike nociception - a basic nerve response to harmful stimuli found in all animals - or lower-order pain, ''suffering supposes a certain level of cognitive functioning,'' he said.
''It is difficult to define what that level is, but there's a lot of data now to suggest some higher mammals have it, including great apes, dolphins and, most likely, whales.''
As for intelligence, cetaceans are second only to humans in brain size, once body weight is taken into account.
More telling than volume, though, are cerebral areas which specialise in cognition and emotional processing - and the likelihood that this evolution was partly driven by social interaction, according to several peer-reviewed studies.
Some scientists suggest this interaction can be described as culture, a notion usually reserved for humans.
''Evidence is growing that for at least some cetacean species, culture is both sophisticated and important,'' said Hal Whitehead, a professor at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia.
If culture is learnt behaviour passed across generations that is different from one community to the next, then humpback whales, to cite one example, are rather cultured indeed.
'At any time during the winter breeding season, all the males in any ocean sing more or less the same elaborate song, but this communal song evolves over months and years,'' Professor Whitehead noted in a study in the journal Biological Conservation.
Scientists have also observed orcas, or killer whales, learning from other orcas from a geographically separate group how to steal fish from longlines used by commercial fishing boats.
Two orca communities that rarely intermingle despite sharing the same waters off the coast of Vancouver Island, meanwhile, have learnt to divide their natural bounty: and one group eats fish and the other mammals, especially seals, Professor Whitehead reported.
Such findings are disturbing factors in the calculus of conservation.
''If we wipe out a subgroup, it is more than killing a certain number of individuals. It could actually wipe out an entire culture,'' Dr Marino said.
vrijdag 25 juni 2010
donderdag 24 juni 2010
Orca doing well, wellwishers name her Morgan
The orca, or killer whale, rescued in the Wadden Sea on Wednesday evening is recovering well at the Dolfinarium in Harderwijk, news agency ANP reports.
The orca has been named Morgan. 'It is a Scottish Celtic name and we chose it because she may well come from the north of Scotland,' a spokesman said. 'We are pleased with her progress so far.'
The orca has been named Morgan. 'It is a Scottish Celtic name and we chose it because she may well come from the north of Scotland,' a spokesman said. 'We are pleased with her progress so far.'
Ailing killer whale captured off Dutch coast
A killer whale has been spotted in the Wadden Sea off the Netherlands for the first time in over 60 years, but was captured and taken to a marine park after it was found to be ailing, officials said on Thursday.
"The killer whale was very weak and thin, we took the decision, with the Environment Ministry to capture it in order to take it to the marine park (in central Harderwijk) and look after it," said Bert van Plateringen a spokesman for the park.
"We do not know where it came from nor how it arrived here," he said, adding that the black and white sea mammal was a young female about three years old. It weighed about 400 kilos (880 pounds) and was 3.5 metres (11 feet) in length.
It was moved in a specially adapted lorry and would remain at the marine park until it could be released back into the sea, he said.
Killer whales generally live in groups in waters deeper than the Wadden Sea, which stretches around 500 kilometres (310 miles) from the southwestern Netherlands up to Denmark.
A dead killer whale was washed up on a beach at western Noordwijk in 1963, but no live sightings have been recorded since 1947, according to the Dutch Environment Ministry
"The killer whale was very weak and thin, we took the decision, with the Environment Ministry to capture it in order to take it to the marine park (in central Harderwijk) and look after it," said Bert van Plateringen a spokesman for the park.
"We do not know where it came from nor how it arrived here," he said, adding that the black and white sea mammal was a young female about three years old. It weighed about 400 kilos (880 pounds) and was 3.5 metres (11 feet) in length.
It was moved in a specially adapted lorry and would remain at the marine park until it could be released back into the sea, he said.
Killer whales generally live in groups in waters deeper than the Wadden Sea, which stretches around 500 kilometres (310 miles) from the southwestern Netherlands up to Denmark.
A dead killer whale was washed up on a beach at western Noordwijk in 1963, but no live sightings have been recorded since 1947, according to the Dutch Environment Ministry
Baby orca killed by severe storm
A dead orca calf that washed ashore west of Sooke in early May appears to have been a casualty of a strong windstorm that swept the coast with 40-knot winds, results of a necropsy show.
"This birth, combined with a huge storm, was bad timing for the calf," Paul Cottrell, marine mammal co-ordinator with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, said yesterday.
Analysis based on DNA reveals the male orca was not one of the endangered southern residents but a member of a transient pod.
The death rate among orca calves in resident populations is steep, as high as 40 per cent over the first year.
The survival rate for transients is believed to be similar, although the transient animals prove more difficult to track.
A necropsy carried out by veterinarian Stephen Rafferty showed the whale was between a half a day and two days old
Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/health/Baby+orca+killed+severe+storm/3196331/story.html#ixzz0rveDDPso
"This birth, combined with a huge storm, was bad timing for the calf," Paul Cottrell, marine mammal co-ordinator with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, said yesterday.
Analysis based on DNA reveals the male orca was not one of the endangered southern residents but a member of a transient pod.
The death rate among orca calves in resident populations is steep, as high as 40 per cent over the first year.
The survival rate for transients is believed to be similar, although the transient animals prove more difficult to track.
A necropsy carried out by veterinarian Stephen Rafferty showed the whale was between a half a day and two days old
Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/health/Baby+orca+killed+severe+storm/3196331/story.html#ixzz0rveDDPso
vrijdag 11 juni 2010
New K-Pod Orca Calf Identified
A new orca calf has been born in K pod, one of the three groups of killer whales that frequent the Salish Sea and Puget Sound, experts say.
The young calf, designated K-43, was spotted Tuesday swimming with K-12, presumed to be the mother, according to biologists with the Center for Whale Research. It is the third calf born to the three Southern Resident pods this year.
K pod returned to the San Juan Islands this week by way of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, but apparently turned back. All three groups are beginning to settle in for a summer of fishing in and around the islands. J pod and portions of L pod have already arrived, but both pods have been coming and going, apparently not finding many chinook salmon, experts say.
The new whale apparently was spotted by observer Jeanne Hyde on Feb. 21 while K pod traveled with J pod in the San Juan Islands. At that time, the calf could not be positively confirmed, but it now looks to be five months old.
K-12, the new mother, is believed to be 38 years old.
She was a young animal when Ken Balcomb, the center’s director, began to identify individual whales and maintain an annual census. She has two other offspring, K-22 and K-37.
The new birth brings the number of whales in K pod to 20. J pod has 28 whales, and L pod 42. Final counts for this year won’t be made until all the whales have returned.
The young calf, designated K-43, was spotted Tuesday swimming with K-12, presumed to be the mother, according to biologists with the Center for Whale Research. It is the third calf born to the three Southern Resident pods this year.
K pod returned to the San Juan Islands this week by way of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, but apparently turned back. All three groups are beginning to settle in for a summer of fishing in and around the islands. J pod and portions of L pod have already arrived, but both pods have been coming and going, apparently not finding many chinook salmon, experts say.
The new whale apparently was spotted by observer Jeanne Hyde on Feb. 21 while K pod traveled with J pod in the San Juan Islands. At that time, the calf could not be positively confirmed, but it now looks to be five months old.
K-12, the new mother, is believed to be 38 years old.
She was a young animal when Ken Balcomb, the center’s director, began to identify individual whales and maintain an annual census. She has two other offspring, K-22 and K-37.
The new birth brings the number of whales in K pod to 20. J pod has 28 whales, and L pod 42. Final counts for this year won’t be made until all the whales have returned.
zondag 6 juni 2010
B.C. seal escapes orca attack by hitching ride on boats
VICTORIA — A lucky harbour seal escaped from a group of transient killer whales by jumping onto two boats in the Juan de Fuca Strait.
Valerie Shore was on a whale-watching tour Saturday afternoon when she saw the whales circling another boat.
“There was a harbour seal that had jumped on the outboard. Up to eight whales were circling the boat,” she said.
The Victoria Clipper ferry had also stopped to watch the whales.
When it appeared the predators had given up, the seal hopped back into the ocean.
But the orcas were soon in pursuit, tossing the seal in the air and pulling it under the water.
“It was very quick. We thought, ‘This is over, that seal is dead,’ ” Shore said. “Then we noticed the whales circling the Clipper.”
The savvy seal had lodged itself on a jet at the back of the ferry, eluding the orcas once again.
“It was not going anywhere.”
Victoria Times Colonist
Valerie Shore was on a whale-watching tour Saturday afternoon when she saw the whales circling another boat.
“There was a harbour seal that had jumped on the outboard. Up to eight whales were circling the boat,” she said.
The Victoria Clipper ferry had also stopped to watch the whales.
When it appeared the predators had given up, the seal hopped back into the ocean.
But the orcas were soon in pursuit, tossing the seal in the air and pulling it under the water.
“It was very quick. We thought, ‘This is over, that seal is dead,’ ” Shore said. “Then we noticed the whales circling the Clipper.”
The savvy seal had lodged itself on a jet at the back of the ferry, eluding the orcas once again.
“It was not going anywhere.”
Victoria Times Colonist
zaterdag 29 mei 2010
Vancouver Aquarium Researchers Reveal Genetic Results From a Orca Calf Carcass
Vancouver, Canada - Vancouver Aquarium researchers reveal genetic results from a killer whale calf carcass found near Sooke on May 4. The calf was a member of the so-called transient killer whale population. Conservation biologists consider this a positive finding and are relieved the calf is not from the endangered BC southern resident killer whale population.
On May 4, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO)’s Marine Mammal Response Network responded to a public call regarding a deceased orca calf washed ashore near Sooke on Vancouver Island. DFO attended the scene to organize the immediate transfer of the carcass to the BC Animal Health Centre in Abbotsford for necropsy.
The calf appears to have died within a day or two of birth. A detailed necropsy showed its’ lungs were partially inflated and its umbilical cord was still attached. The calf measured 2.4 metres in length and weighed 220 kilograms. A small sample of skin tissue was provided for genetic analysis to Dr. Lance Barrett-Lennard, senior marine mammal scientist at the Vancouver Aquarium.
Barrett-Lennard and his Aquarium research team extracted pure DNA from the skin tissue and compared a portion of the genetic sequence with hundreds of previously-collected samples of transient and resident killer whale DNA. The genetic analysis determined the orca calf to be a transient killer whale.
Dr. Lance Barrett-Lennard says, “While it is always troubling to hear about young killer whales dying, there is some relief that the calf was not a member of the critically-endangered southern resident population, where every death moves the group closer to a breaking point”.
There are two types of killer whales found in nearshore waters of BC: mammal-eating transient killer whales and fish-eating resident killer whales. Researchers were concerned the calf was from the endangered southern resident killer whale population because its body was found in a location frequented by residents.
Like most whales, killer whale carcasses usually sink to the ocean floor making it rare to find a beached carcass. In 1999, another transient orca calf body was found in the same general area.
Transient killer whales reside atop the ocean food chain thereby accumulating large amounts of persistent organic pollutants (POP’s) in their bodies. When giving birth, a female orca will pass on most of its own organic pollutants onto the calf, decreasing its chance of survival. Orca calves have an average survival rate of 60% in the first six months of life.
DFO began the first systematic research on killer whales in the world in the early 1970’s, and has collaborated closely with the Vancouver Aquarium on this work since the early 1980’s. In that time, nearly 500 skin samples have been collected from killer whales from throughout the north Pacific. DNA extracted from these samples showed that resident and transient orcas have not mated for hundreds of generations and are genetically different, despite sharing the same habitat. The DNA has also been used to determine mating patterns and assess inbreeding.
Vancouver Aquarium researchers operate a number of programs related to marine mammal and cetacean research, including the B.C. Cetacean Sightings Network which collects and compiles sightings reports submitted by the public. These sightings data create a clearer picture of cetacean habitat use and aid understanding of these creatures and their requirements. There is further information at www.wildwhales.org.
The Aquarium also operates the B.C. Wild Killer Whale Adoption Program. By joining, members support research on wild killer whales which leads to a better understanding of the whales, their place in the ocean ecosystem, and conservation measures necessary to protect them. To learn more about adopting a killer whale, visit www.killerwhale.org
On May 4, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO)’s Marine Mammal Response Network responded to a public call regarding a deceased orca calf washed ashore near Sooke on Vancouver Island. DFO attended the scene to organize the immediate transfer of the carcass to the BC Animal Health Centre in Abbotsford for necropsy.
The calf appears to have died within a day or two of birth. A detailed necropsy showed its’ lungs were partially inflated and its umbilical cord was still attached. The calf measured 2.4 metres in length and weighed 220 kilograms. A small sample of skin tissue was provided for genetic analysis to Dr. Lance Barrett-Lennard, senior marine mammal scientist at the Vancouver Aquarium.
Barrett-Lennard and his Aquarium research team extracted pure DNA from the skin tissue and compared a portion of the genetic sequence with hundreds of previously-collected samples of transient and resident killer whale DNA. The genetic analysis determined the orca calf to be a transient killer whale.
Dr. Lance Barrett-Lennard says, “While it is always troubling to hear about young killer whales dying, there is some relief that the calf was not a member of the critically-endangered southern resident population, where every death moves the group closer to a breaking point”.
There are two types of killer whales found in nearshore waters of BC: mammal-eating transient killer whales and fish-eating resident killer whales. Researchers were concerned the calf was from the endangered southern resident killer whale population because its body was found in a location frequented by residents.
Like most whales, killer whale carcasses usually sink to the ocean floor making it rare to find a beached carcass. In 1999, another transient orca calf body was found in the same general area.
Transient killer whales reside atop the ocean food chain thereby accumulating large amounts of persistent organic pollutants (POP’s) in their bodies. When giving birth, a female orca will pass on most of its own organic pollutants onto the calf, decreasing its chance of survival. Orca calves have an average survival rate of 60% in the first six months of life.
DFO began the first systematic research on killer whales in the world in the early 1970’s, and has collaborated closely with the Vancouver Aquarium on this work since the early 1980’s. In that time, nearly 500 skin samples have been collected from killer whales from throughout the north Pacific. DNA extracted from these samples showed that resident and transient orcas have not mated for hundreds of generations and are genetically different, despite sharing the same habitat. The DNA has also been used to determine mating patterns and assess inbreeding.
Vancouver Aquarium researchers operate a number of programs related to marine mammal and cetacean research, including the B.C. Cetacean Sightings Network which collects and compiles sightings reports submitted by the public. These sightings data create a clearer picture of cetacean habitat use and aid understanding of these creatures and their requirements. There is further information at www.wildwhales.org.
The Aquarium also operates the B.C. Wild Killer Whale Adoption Program. By joining, members support research on wild killer whales which leads to a better understanding of the whales, their place in the ocean ecosystem, and conservation measures necessary to protect them. To learn more about adopting a killer whale, visit www.killerwhale.org
woensdag 26 mei 2010
Transients visit Bremerton Silverdale
A group of at least five killer whales showed up in Bremerton Wednesday morning, exciting shoreline residents who watched the orcas as they wandered through Sinclair and Dyes inlets throughout the day.
These are transient orcas, the seal-eating variety. They travel quickly and quietly, searching the nooks and crannies of our inland waterways for marine mammals — even checking out Ostrich Bay near Bremerton’s Jackson Park.
Reports of the orcas began coming in around 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, when a group of three whales were sighted off Enetai near Manette. The animals swam into Sinclair Inlet and past Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, where they were spotted by a Sunn Fjord resident about 11:45. The orcas were soon headed out of the inlet, turning in front of the Bremerton Ferry Terminal.
“They were swimming past the Turner Joy,” said Leanna Christian, an employee of The Boat Shed restaurant on the northeast side of Port Washington Narrows. She saw them pass under the Manette Bridge shortly after 12:30 p.m., heading toward Dyes Inlet.
A short time later, the whales were reported by residents of Erlands Point, Tracyton and Chico. They swam up the middle of Dyes Inlet, perhaps as far as Anna Smith Children’s Park before turning back south, pausing near the end of Erlands Point, then ducking into Ostrich Bay about 3:30 p.m. They were still in the bay at 7:30 p.m., according to a shoreline resident.
Transient orcas, which are frequently seen in Southeast Alaska and along the shores of British Columbia, are quite distinct from the more familiar Southern Resident killer whales that eat fish — mostly chinook salmon— and frequent the San Juan Islands in the summer and Central Puget Sound in the fall.
In terms of their appearance, transients have a sharper, more sharklike, dorsal fin than resident orcas with their rounded fins. Also the gray “saddle patch” around the dorsal fin stretches farther forward on transients.
Sightings of transients in Puget Sound are unusually high this year, said Howard Garrett of Orca Network, which keeps track of whale sightings.
“They are all over,” Garrett said. “They are really patrolling these waters.”
The whales that came into Sinclair and Dyes inlets Wednesday may be the same ones spotted Tuesday morning off Point No Point in North Kitsap and near Vashon Island later in the day, Garrett said.
Ken Balcomb of the Center for Whale Research was able to identify several of those whales, including a 31-year-old male known as T-74, who is distinguished by a notch in his dorsal fin. Like many transients, T-74 has been observed mainly in Southeast Alaska.
Balcomb, who has maintained a census of Southern Residents for 35 years, confirmed that this seems to be an unusual year for visits by transients.
“It sure seems to me that we have had a real episode of transient activity in the last five months,” he said.
Balcomb speculated that the transients may be around more because the residents are somewhere else. The two types of whales seem to avoid each other. Since residents normally travel in greater numbers, they may hold the dominant position.
The fish-eating residents are not around, probably because they can’t find fish to eat, Balcomb said. On the other hand, “fisherman would probably agree that there are too many seals.”
The last time transient orcas were reported in Dyes Inlet was 2004, when 13 of the animals stayed for two days. T-74 was not among them. Shoreline residents at the time reported an unusual number of seals and sea lions climbing out of the water, either onto docks or high up on the beaches.
These are transient orcas, the seal-eating variety. They travel quickly and quietly, searching the nooks and crannies of our inland waterways for marine mammals — even checking out Ostrich Bay near Bremerton’s Jackson Park.
Reports of the orcas began coming in around 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, when a group of three whales were sighted off Enetai near Manette. The animals swam into Sinclair Inlet and past Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, where they were spotted by a Sunn Fjord resident about 11:45. The orcas were soon headed out of the inlet, turning in front of the Bremerton Ferry Terminal.
“They were swimming past the Turner Joy,” said Leanna Christian, an employee of The Boat Shed restaurant on the northeast side of Port Washington Narrows. She saw them pass under the Manette Bridge shortly after 12:30 p.m., heading toward Dyes Inlet.
A short time later, the whales were reported by residents of Erlands Point, Tracyton and Chico. They swam up the middle of Dyes Inlet, perhaps as far as Anna Smith Children’s Park before turning back south, pausing near the end of Erlands Point, then ducking into Ostrich Bay about 3:30 p.m. They were still in the bay at 7:30 p.m., according to a shoreline resident.
Transient orcas, which are frequently seen in Southeast Alaska and along the shores of British Columbia, are quite distinct from the more familiar Southern Resident killer whales that eat fish — mostly chinook salmon— and frequent the San Juan Islands in the summer and Central Puget Sound in the fall.
In terms of their appearance, transients have a sharper, more sharklike, dorsal fin than resident orcas with their rounded fins. Also the gray “saddle patch” around the dorsal fin stretches farther forward on transients.
Sightings of transients in Puget Sound are unusually high this year, said Howard Garrett of Orca Network, which keeps track of whale sightings.
“They are all over,” Garrett said. “They are really patrolling these waters.”
The whales that came into Sinclair and Dyes inlets Wednesday may be the same ones spotted Tuesday morning off Point No Point in North Kitsap and near Vashon Island later in the day, Garrett said.
Ken Balcomb of the Center for Whale Research was able to identify several of those whales, including a 31-year-old male known as T-74, who is distinguished by a notch in his dorsal fin. Like many transients, T-74 has been observed mainly in Southeast Alaska.
Balcomb, who has maintained a census of Southern Residents for 35 years, confirmed that this seems to be an unusual year for visits by transients.
“It sure seems to me that we have had a real episode of transient activity in the last five months,” he said.
Balcomb speculated that the transients may be around more because the residents are somewhere else. The two types of whales seem to avoid each other. Since residents normally travel in greater numbers, they may hold the dominant position.
The fish-eating residents are not around, probably because they can’t find fish to eat, Balcomb said. On the other hand, “fisherman would probably agree that there are too many seals.”
The last time transient orcas were reported in Dyes Inlet was 2004, when 13 of the animals stayed for two days. T-74 was not among them. Shoreline residents at the time reported an unusual number of seals and sea lions climbing out of the water, either onto docks or high up on the beaches.
woensdag 5 mei 2010
One ocean, four (or more) killer whale species
Determining whether animals belong to the same species is not as black and white as you may think.
Take killer whales, for example. Scientists have been debating for years whether the ocean-dwelling mammals belong to a single species or several different ones. Now, new DNA evidence seems to indicate that killer whales should be classified in at least four different species.
Scientists used to think that Shamu and Willy of the movie “Free Willy” and other killer whales (also called orcas) were all members of a single species, Orcinus orca, which had colonized oceans all around the world. But as researchers began observing killer whales more closely, they discovered that the marine mammals seem to belong to several different groups, called ecotypes, with different feeding habits and appearances. In Antarctic waters, for example, three different ecotypes have been identified that have distinguishing eye patches; dietary preferences for either fish, seals or cetaceans and social networks that don’t intersect.
Killer whales from different ecotypes don’t seem to breed with each other — one criterion for being classified as separate species. So some scientists proposed that killer whales should be divided into different species.
But early genetic analyses didn’t support the move. Biologists often look at a loop of DNA housed in organelles called mitochondria, which produce energy for cells. Partly because it resides outside the main storehouse of genetic material in the cell’s nucleus, mitochondrial DNA can be used as a type of molecular clock to measure the time elapsed since two genetic lineages shared a common ancestor. After looking at changes in portions of the mitochondrial DNA from different killer whale ecotypes, earlier studies concluded the groups were similar enough to fall into a single species.
But recently, researchers have come to realize that some species may accumulate mitochondrial DNA changes faster or slower than others. Adélie penguins are evolving faster than previously thought (SN Online; 11/17/2009). But killer whales and other cetaceans have molecular clocks that tick slower than in other species, says Phillip Morin, a marine mammal geneticist at the Southwest Fisheries Science Center in La Jolla, Calif. As a result, examining just part of the mitochondrial DNA doesn’t give a full picture of genetic diversity of killer whales.
So Morin and his colleagues analyzed the full mitochondrial genomes of 139 killer whales from around the globe and found that the animals fall into several genetically distinct groups.
“The genetic data show that they are each independently evolving lineages,” Morin says.
The group proposes in a study published online April 22 in Genome Research that there is enough evidence to classify three ecotypes of killer whales as separate species:
Type B killer whales in the Antarctic feed only on marine mammals, especially seals that they knock off of pack ice. These killer whales have large eye patches and a two-tone grey color scheme. They are medium-size as killer whales go, falling in between the open-ocean dwelling Type A killer whales and the smaller Type C orcas.
Type C killer whales — also known as Ross Sea killer whales — eat fish and hunt under Antarctica’s pack ice. These are the smallest of the killer whales and have a small, slanted eye patch.
Transient killer whales that live in the northeastern Pacific near Alaska are the most genetically distinct of the killer whales. These killer whales eat other marine mammals, including seals, sea lions, whales and dolphins. Morin’s group estimates that this group diverged from other killer whales as a separate species about 700,000 years ago. Other groups split off more recently.
Mitochondrial DNA analysis also suggests that Type A killer whales, which feed on other cetaceans, might be further divided into other species once scientists have compiled more data about the animals’ behavior.
A new genetic study suggests three different populations of killer whales belong in their own individual species: a type that lives in the northeastern Pacific and feeds on marine mammals (top), a pack ice killer whale, which hunts seals in Antarctic waters (center) and a Ross sea killer whale, which pursues fish under the Antarctic pack ice.
“I suspect there’s going to be another four or five species,” says Robin Baird, a cetacean biologist at the Cascadia Research Collective in Olympia, Wash. What is unusual about the killer whales is that they seem to be evolving into new species based upon their eating habits, he says. Other instances of this sort of cultural divide between species are known for birds, but is extremely rare for mammals, he says.
Usually new species emerge after geographical isolation separates two groups into distinct breeding populations. But killer whales don’t have any apparent physical barriers that would keep them from breeding with each other. And scientists have learned that geographic isolation wasn’t enough to divide tree lizards, called anoles, on the Lesser Antilles island of Martinque into new species. Roger Thorpe and his colleagues Yann Surget-Groba and Helena Johansson reported their discovery April 29 in PLoS Genetics.
Not everyone is convinced that the new genetic data show that killer whales are several different species. Mitochondrial DNA is passed from mothers to their offspring and only reflects part of a species genetic heritage, points out A. Rus Hoelzel of Durham University in England. Analyzing the full genetic makeup of killer whales might show more flow of genetic information between killer whale groups than is apparent from the mitochondrial DNA. Exchange of genetic information between the groups would indicate that they aren’t separate species.
Morin also wants to examine the full genetic picture of killer whales, but he thinks the additional data will validate the finding from mitochondrial DNA that orcas belong to different species.
“My gut feeling is that these really are separate species, but the careful scientist in me wants to get a little bit more data from the nuclear DNA to really nail it down,” he says.
Take killer whales, for example. Scientists have been debating for years whether the ocean-dwelling mammals belong to a single species or several different ones. Now, new DNA evidence seems to indicate that killer whales should be classified in at least four different species.
Scientists used to think that Shamu and Willy of the movie “Free Willy” and other killer whales (also called orcas) were all members of a single species, Orcinus orca, which had colonized oceans all around the world. But as researchers began observing killer whales more closely, they discovered that the marine mammals seem to belong to several different groups, called ecotypes, with different feeding habits and appearances. In Antarctic waters, for example, three different ecotypes have been identified that have distinguishing eye patches; dietary preferences for either fish, seals or cetaceans and social networks that don’t intersect.
Killer whales from different ecotypes don’t seem to breed with each other — one criterion for being classified as separate species. So some scientists proposed that killer whales should be divided into different species.
But early genetic analyses didn’t support the move. Biologists often look at a loop of DNA housed in organelles called mitochondria, which produce energy for cells. Partly because it resides outside the main storehouse of genetic material in the cell’s nucleus, mitochondrial DNA can be used as a type of molecular clock to measure the time elapsed since two genetic lineages shared a common ancestor. After looking at changes in portions of the mitochondrial DNA from different killer whale ecotypes, earlier studies concluded the groups were similar enough to fall into a single species.
But recently, researchers have come to realize that some species may accumulate mitochondrial DNA changes faster or slower than others. Adélie penguins are evolving faster than previously thought (SN Online; 11/17/2009). But killer whales and other cetaceans have molecular clocks that tick slower than in other species, says Phillip Morin, a marine mammal geneticist at the Southwest Fisheries Science Center in La Jolla, Calif. As a result, examining just part of the mitochondrial DNA doesn’t give a full picture of genetic diversity of killer whales.
So Morin and his colleagues analyzed the full mitochondrial genomes of 139 killer whales from around the globe and found that the animals fall into several genetically distinct groups.
“The genetic data show that they are each independently evolving lineages,” Morin says.
The group proposes in a study published online April 22 in Genome Research that there is enough evidence to classify three ecotypes of killer whales as separate species:
Type B killer whales in the Antarctic feed only on marine mammals, especially seals that they knock off of pack ice. These killer whales have large eye patches and a two-tone grey color scheme. They are medium-size as killer whales go, falling in between the open-ocean dwelling Type A killer whales and the smaller Type C orcas.
Type C killer whales — also known as Ross Sea killer whales — eat fish and hunt under Antarctica’s pack ice. These are the smallest of the killer whales and have a small, slanted eye patch.
Transient killer whales that live in the northeastern Pacific near Alaska are the most genetically distinct of the killer whales. These killer whales eat other marine mammals, including seals, sea lions, whales and dolphins. Morin’s group estimates that this group diverged from other killer whales as a separate species about 700,000 years ago. Other groups split off more recently.
A new genetic study suggests three different populations of killer whales belong in their own individual species: a type that lives in the northeastern Pacific and feeds on marine mammals (top), a pack ice killer whale, which hunts seals in Antarctic waters (center) and a Ross sea killer whale, which pursues fish under the Antarctic pack ice.
“I suspect there’s going to be another four or five species,” says Robin Baird, a cetacean biologist at the Cascadia Research Collective in Olympia, Wash. What is unusual about the killer whales is that they seem to be evolving into new species based upon their eating habits, he says. Other instances of this sort of cultural divide between species are known for birds, but is extremely rare for mammals, he says.
Usually new species emerge after geographical isolation separates two groups into distinct breeding populations. But killer whales don’t have any apparent physical barriers that would keep them from breeding with each other. And scientists have learned that geographic isolation wasn’t enough to divide tree lizards, called anoles, on the Lesser Antilles island of Martinque into new species. Roger Thorpe and his colleagues Yann Surget-Groba and Helena Johansson reported their discovery April 29 in PLoS Genetics.
Not everyone is convinced that the new genetic data show that killer whales are several different species. Mitochondrial DNA is passed from mothers to their offspring and only reflects part of a species genetic heritage, points out A. Rus Hoelzel of Durham University in England. Analyzing the full genetic makeup of killer whales might show more flow of genetic information between killer whale groups than is apparent from the mitochondrial DNA. Exchange of genetic information between the groups would indicate that they aren’t separate species.
Morin also wants to examine the full genetic picture of killer whales, but he thinks the additional data will validate the finding from mitochondrial DNA that orcas belong to different species.
“My gut feeling is that these really are separate species, but the careful scientist in me wants to get a little bit more data from the nuclear DNA to really nail it down,” he says.
dinsdag 4 mei 2010
Dead orca calf Point No Point Sooke, B.C., Canada
May 4
We received a call around noon from Sharon Soderberg of the Point No Point resort near Sooke, B.C., reporting a dead orca calf washed up on their beach. She sent this photo to us, which shows a newborn calf, fetal folds still visible. Sharon said it was approximately 8.5' long, and the umbilical cord was still attached.
The Dept. of Fisheries Marine Mammal Stranding Network responded, and a necropsy was performed under the direction of Canada's DFO.
Photo by
Sharon Soderberg
We have had a number of Transient orcas in the area, but J pod had also been in the region just days before the stranding, so it isn't yet known who the calf belonged to. We will forward on any further information on this as it becomes available.
We received a call around noon from Sharon Soderberg of the Point No Point resort near Sooke, B.C., reporting a dead orca calf washed up on their beach. She sent this photo to us, which shows a newborn calf, fetal folds still visible. Sharon said it was approximately 8.5' long, and the umbilical cord was still attached.
The Dept. of Fisheries Marine Mammal Stranding Network responded, and a necropsy was performed under the direction of Canada's DFO.
Sharon Soderberg
We have had a number of Transient orcas in the area, but J pod had also been in the region just days before the stranding, so it isn't yet known who the calf belonged to. We will forward on any further information on this as it becomes available.
vrijdag 23 april 2010
'Unique' population of killer whales identified off B.C. coast
A threatened population of killer whales that spends much of the year hunting seals off the British Columbia coast has been identified by an international team of scientists as a distinct species separated from its fellow orcas in Canada and elsewhere about 700,000 years ago.
The whales, known as the North Pacific Transients, have long been understood to have a different prey preference than their fish-eating cousins, as well as subtle physical anomalies, such as a more pointed dorsal fin.
But a genetic study involving 16 American and Danish scientists, led by the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service, has concluded that the estimated population of about 300 individual North Pacific Transients is globally unique — an animal with so many DNA differences from its closest relatives around the world that it should be classified as a stand-alone species.
If the proposal is backed by the broader scientific community, the tiny population of whales off the Pacific Coast would essentially become Canada's scarcest species — with fewer numbers than either the endangered North Atlantic right whale or the whooping crane, both of which have between 300 and 400 individuals.
"It's a very exciting story," said John Ford, a University of British Columbia killer whale expert and federal fisheries scientist. "We've suspected this for many years but just haven't had the strength of evidence that this study has provided."
The results of the orca DNA project, published in the latest issue of the journal Genome Research, were based on samples tested from hundreds of specimens collected around the world.
The study, led by California-based geneticist Phillip Morin of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, has also tentatively identified two killer whale populations near Antarctica as separate species.
But the most distinctive of all orca populations was the North Pacific Transients, which move annually in small hunting groups between the coasts of Northern California, Oregon and Washington, along the B.C. shore and as far north as Alaska.
"Not only are they ecologically and morphologically distinct from other high-latitude killer whales, but genetically they are the most divergent type, diverging from all other killer whale types approximately 700,000 years ago," the study states.
Morin told Canwest News Service that this "relatively ancient" separation of the North Pacific Transients from other killer whales was key to their proposed designation as a separate species.
He added that the finding reinforces the importance of conservation policies that treat the transients "separately from all other killer whales for management purposes."
Morin added that other "resident" and "offshore" orca populations that inhabit Canadian waters could eventually be declared independent as well, as more information about their habits, physiology and genetics is gathered.
Ford says the transients are already treated as a separate population in Canada in terms of conservation strategies. Overall, he says, the transients are in a relatively healthy state — currently increasing in numbers by two or three per cent per year — but are considered "threatened" under Canada's endangered species legislation because of their relatively small population and heavy accumulation of toxins such PCBs via target prey.
Ford says that along with different feeding habits and certain physical features, the transients "never mix with other populations" and are clearly "acoustically" distinct from other killer whales.
"They are very quiet," he says, "because they hunt by stealth" when targeting "smart" seals and sea lions unlike the salmon-eating killer whales of southern B.C. that simply plow into schools of prey.
Ford said the transients 700,000-year-old split from other orcas is a "really striking" discovery that is "a surprise to all of us" who study killer whales.
"It really helps us better understand the evolution of the species."
The whales, known as the North Pacific Transients, have long been understood to have a different prey preference than their fish-eating cousins, as well as subtle physical anomalies, such as a more pointed dorsal fin.
But a genetic study involving 16 American and Danish scientists, led by the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service, has concluded that the estimated population of about 300 individual North Pacific Transients is globally unique — an animal with so many DNA differences from its closest relatives around the world that it should be classified as a stand-alone species.
If the proposal is backed by the broader scientific community, the tiny population of whales off the Pacific Coast would essentially become Canada's scarcest species — with fewer numbers than either the endangered North Atlantic right whale or the whooping crane, both of which have between 300 and 400 individuals.
"It's a very exciting story," said John Ford, a University of British Columbia killer whale expert and federal fisheries scientist. "We've suspected this for many years but just haven't had the strength of evidence that this study has provided."
The results of the orca DNA project, published in the latest issue of the journal Genome Research, were based on samples tested from hundreds of specimens collected around the world.
The study, led by California-based geneticist Phillip Morin of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, has also tentatively identified two killer whale populations near Antarctica as separate species.
But the most distinctive of all orca populations was the North Pacific Transients, which move annually in small hunting groups between the coasts of Northern California, Oregon and Washington, along the B.C. shore and as far north as Alaska.
"Not only are they ecologically and morphologically distinct from other high-latitude killer whales, but genetically they are the most divergent type, diverging from all other killer whale types approximately 700,000 years ago," the study states.
Morin told Canwest News Service that this "relatively ancient" separation of the North Pacific Transients from other killer whales was key to their proposed designation as a separate species.
He added that the finding reinforces the importance of conservation policies that treat the transients "separately from all other killer whales for management purposes."
Morin added that other "resident" and "offshore" orca populations that inhabit Canadian waters could eventually be declared independent as well, as more information about their habits, physiology and genetics is gathered.
Ford says the transients are already treated as a separate population in Canada in terms of conservation strategies. Overall, he says, the transients are in a relatively healthy state — currently increasing in numbers by two or three per cent per year — but are considered "threatened" under Canada's endangered species legislation because of their relatively small population and heavy accumulation of toxins such PCBs via target prey.
Ford says that along with different feeding habits and certain physical features, the transients "never mix with other populations" and are clearly "acoustically" distinct from other killer whales.
"They are very quiet," he says, "because they hunt by stealth" when targeting "smart" seals and sea lions unlike the salmon-eating killer whales of southern B.C. that simply plow into schools of prey.
Ford said the transients 700,000-year-old split from other orcas is a "really striking" discovery that is "a surprise to all of us" who study killer whales.
"It really helps us better understand the evolution of the species."
maandag 12 april 2010
Killer whales attack Patch the gray whale in Saratoga Passage in big rumble Sunday
A roving pack of transient killer whales attacked an adult gray whale Sunday in a Puget Sound rumble witnessed by a boat full of whale watchers.
Recorded live by one of the tourists, the attack occurred in Saratoga Passage, between Camano and Whidbey islands, when a pack of seven transient orca whales rammed an adult gray whale.
Not just any gray, but Patch, as the male, believed to be about 25 years old, is known. A regular visitor, he was first sighted in 1991 and has a following of fans who track his comings and goings in Puget Sound every year.
"Patch must be our most famous whale," said Susan Berta of Orca Network, a nonprofit advocacy group. After the attack the whale swam to a shallow beach north of Langley around 2 p.m., and appeared to rest for a bit, not feeding, but just coming to the surface to breathe, Berta said. It is not known if, or how badly, he was injured, Berta said.
"This was not hunting; they rammed him several times, then he rolled on his back, as a protective measure," Berta said. The gray whale was seen Monday morning near Hat Island, and appeared to be normal, but no one knows for sure, she said.
It is unusual for transients to take on an adult gray whale. The orcas usually prey on gray whale calves as the young animals cruise the outer coast with their mothers.
Transient killer whales mostly frequent the waters of British Columbia, but also are found in Puget Sound, especially when they are chasing prey. They prefer mammals — seals, sea lions and even whales. The orca whales in Puget Sound's southern resident population, in contrast, eschew mammals and eat only fish, particularly chinook salmon.
Orca diet is cultural: The animals learn what's food for them from their families, and pass it along to the next generation.
Brad Hanson, biologist with the National Marine Fisheries Service, was out on the water watching the transients Sunday. He watched as the pack took on at least one seal. The adult orcas hung back during the hunt, to allow younger animals to practice their skills.
"Right in our front yards we literally have these major predators. It's not something you have in many other areas," Hanson said.
"They were taking a few runs at it, while the adults were circling nearby, standing off," he said.
It is not unusual for biologists to discover rake marks on gray whales, the result of tangling with killer whales. Adult grays are no easy mark. Big and powerful, they are capable of striking powerful blows with their tails to defend themselves.
Berta said there had been several instances in the last several weeks in which transients rammed gray whales.
There are about 20,000 gray whales in the population that regularly migrates up and down Washington's coast. Another small population of grays frequents the inner waters of Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca with such regularity the locals sometimes name them.
Recorded live by one of the tourists, the attack occurred in Saratoga Passage, between Camano and Whidbey islands, when a pack of seven transient orca whales rammed an adult gray whale.
Not just any gray, but Patch, as the male, believed to be about 25 years old, is known. A regular visitor, he was first sighted in 1991 and has a following of fans who track his comings and goings in Puget Sound every year.
"Patch must be our most famous whale," said Susan Berta of Orca Network, a nonprofit advocacy group. After the attack the whale swam to a shallow beach north of Langley around 2 p.m., and appeared to rest for a bit, not feeding, but just coming to the surface to breathe, Berta said. It is not known if, or how badly, he was injured, Berta said.
"This was not hunting; they rammed him several times, then he rolled on his back, as a protective measure," Berta said. The gray whale was seen Monday morning near Hat Island, and appeared to be normal, but no one knows for sure, she said.
It is unusual for transients to take on an adult gray whale. The orcas usually prey on gray whale calves as the young animals cruise the outer coast with their mothers.
Transient killer whales mostly frequent the waters of British Columbia, but also are found in Puget Sound, especially when they are chasing prey. They prefer mammals — seals, sea lions and even whales. The orca whales in Puget Sound's southern resident population, in contrast, eschew mammals and eat only fish, particularly chinook salmon.
Orca diet is cultural: The animals learn what's food for them from their families, and pass it along to the next generation.
Brad Hanson, biologist with the National Marine Fisheries Service, was out on the water watching the transients Sunday. He watched as the pack took on at least one seal. The adult orcas hung back during the hunt, to allow younger animals to practice their skills.
"Right in our front yards we literally have these major predators. It's not something you have in many other areas," Hanson said.
"They were taking a few runs at it, while the adults were circling nearby, standing off," he said.
It is not unusual for biologists to discover rake marks on gray whales, the result of tangling with killer whales. Adult grays are no easy mark. Big and powerful, they are capable of striking powerful blows with their tails to defend themselves.
Berta said there had been several instances in the last several weeks in which transients rammed gray whales.
There are about 20,000 gray whales in the population that regularly migrates up and down Washington's coast. Another small population of grays frequents the inner waters of Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca with such regularity the locals sometimes name them.
donderdag 8 april 2010
A51 had a new calf
Ceteceanlab reports:
We awoke to a thin layer of snow this morning, which pushes away the feeling of spring. Yet, the arrival of whales in recent days has convinced us that spring is really here. Two humpback whales spent the day in Taylor Bight while we listened to A4 and A5 resident orca calls in Whale Channel. Late yesterday afternoon the orca family referred to as the A51s decided to come down Whale Channel and passed our Lab; we went out in our boat to check on them. A61, the brother of A51 was way in front by about a mile when we approached them. A51 and A85, her 5 year old calf were travelling close together accompanied by two pacific white-sided dolphins when we noticed a tiny black and white energy bundle which to our delight is a new calf for A51. A85 took the two dolphins close to our boat so A51 and her calf had some privacy as they travelled by the Gitga'at seaweed camp of Kyel. The whales continued heading south in Caamano Sound all the while the young calf breaching and speeding between its siblings. What an amazing start to a whole new season of whale encounters. Can it get any better then this....?
We awoke to a thin layer of snow this morning, which pushes away the feeling of spring. Yet, the arrival of whales in recent days has convinced us that spring is really here. Two humpback whales spent the day in Taylor Bight while we listened to A4 and A5 resident orca calls in Whale Channel. Late yesterday afternoon the orca family referred to as the A51s decided to come down Whale Channel and passed our Lab; we went out in our boat to check on them. A61, the brother of A51 was way in front by about a mile when we approached them. A51 and A85, her 5 year old calf were travelling close together accompanied by two pacific white-sided dolphins when we noticed a tiny black and white energy bundle which to our delight is a new calf for A51. A85 took the two dolphins close to our boat so A51 and her calf had some privacy as they travelled by the Gitga'at seaweed camp of Kyel. The whales continued heading south in Caamano Sound all the while the young calf breaching and speeding between its siblings. What an amazing start to a whole new season of whale encounters. Can it get any better then this....?
dinsdag 23 februari 2010
Good news for San Juans orcas: Newborn calf sighted, the fifth in a year
It's not quite an orca baby boom, but the latest birth of a calf, L114 — that's how science-types like to name subjects — is cause for optimism for whale researchers here.
There now have been five orca babies born in the past year in this group, which spends much of its time in the San Juans and Puget Sound.
"I wouldn't yet call it a boom, but it's exciting because every new calf born is an indication that this endangered population may be on the road to recovery," says Lynne Barre, marine-mammal specialist with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries.
L114 would bring the southern resident killer-whale population to 89. It had declined to 81 in 2001, a drop of 17 percent from its high of 98 in 1995.
The new baby and mom (L77) were first reported Sunday afternoon off southern Vancouver Island by the Center for Whale Research in Friday Harbor.
Dave Ellifrit, a research assistant at the center, went out on an 18-foot inflatable motorboat, along with the center's director, Ken Balcomb, to where 11 of the whales had been spotted.
Ellifrit said he took some 300 photos of the baby whale.
By now, 20 years into whale spotting, Ellifrit says he's quite good at telling the whales apart by their dorsal fin and "saddle patches," the gray area behind the dorsal fin.
"It comes with practice, lots of pictures and seeing lots of them," he says of spotting individual whales.
He has not gotten tired of mingling with the whales. "They're the coolest things around. They're really beautiful animals," he says. "And you get to watch calves grow up, and have their own calves. You get hooked on it."
The newest baby whale still has fetal folds. Barre says having fetal folds means that while the baby was inside the mom, it was so big that its tail was folded.
A baby orca pops out at about 440 pounds and eight feet in length, Barre says.
The gestation period is 17 months, so, understandably, females give birth only every four or five years, the researcher says.
"It takes a considerable amount of maternal investment to have the pregnancy and to nurse the calf," Barre says. "It takes time to get back into condition."
Female orcas have somewhat similar patterns to humans. Females can start reproduction at age 15, be able to get pregnant until around age 40, and can live up to 80 or 90 years, Barre says.
Males don't live as long; their bodies call it quits at age 60 or 70.
The offspring stay with their moms their entire lives.
The male J1, for example, who's about 60 years old, still is with mom, J2, who is nearly 100, Barre says.
There now have been five orca babies born in the past year in this group, which spends much of its time in the San Juans and Puget Sound.
"I wouldn't yet call it a boom, but it's exciting because every new calf born is an indication that this endangered population may be on the road to recovery," says Lynne Barre, marine-mammal specialist with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries.
L114 would bring the southern resident killer-whale population to 89. It had declined to 81 in 2001, a drop of 17 percent from its high of 98 in 1995.
The new baby and mom (L77) were first reported Sunday afternoon off southern Vancouver Island by the Center for Whale Research in Friday Harbor.
Dave Ellifrit, a research assistant at the center, went out on an 18-foot inflatable motorboat, along with the center's director, Ken Balcomb, to where 11 of the whales had been spotted.
Ellifrit said he took some 300 photos of the baby whale.
By now, 20 years into whale spotting, Ellifrit says he's quite good at telling the whales apart by their dorsal fin and "saddle patches," the gray area behind the dorsal fin.
"It comes with practice, lots of pictures and seeing lots of them," he says of spotting individual whales.
He has not gotten tired of mingling with the whales. "They're the coolest things around. They're really beautiful animals," he says. "And you get to watch calves grow up, and have their own calves. You get hooked on it."
The newest baby whale still has fetal folds. Barre says having fetal folds means that while the baby was inside the mom, it was so big that its tail was folded.
A baby orca pops out at about 440 pounds and eight feet in length, Barre says.
The gestation period is 17 months, so, understandably, females give birth only every four or five years, the researcher says.
"It takes a considerable amount of maternal investment to have the pregnancy and to nurse the calf," Barre says. "It takes time to get back into condition."
Female orcas have somewhat similar patterns to humans. Females can start reproduction at age 15, be able to get pregnant until around age 40, and can live up to 80 or 90 years, Barre says.
Males don't live as long; their bodies call it quits at age 60 or 70.
The offspring stay with their moms their entire lives.
The male J1, for example, who's about 60 years old, still is with mom, J2, who is nearly 100, Barre says.
donderdag 4 februari 2010
Whales use 'Killer' technique for hunting fish
Scientists on Shetland believe they may have discovered a previously-unobserved technique being used by killer whales to catch herring.
Researchers from Aberdeen and St Andrews Universities recorded the whales emitting a low-pitched noise which caused the fish to bunch up.
The mammals then stun the fish with their tails before eating them.
The scientists said this behaviour has not been seen anywhere else in the world.
The findings have come to light in the BBC2 series "Simon King's Shetland Diaries".
Whale researcher, Dr Volker Deecke, demonstrated how his team used underwater microphones to record unusual sounds made by killer whales.
They included a low-pitched noise that the researchers believe caused the herring to bunch up in a tight shoal.
The whales then slap the shoal with their tails to stun the fish before killing and feeding on them.
It is only a theory at this stage and studies will resume in the summer, but the evidence is described as compelling, even though this behaviour hasn't been seen before in any orcas anywhere else in the world.
The use of a herding call was first described from Iceland by research colleagues of Dr Deecke.
However, it was believed that this hunting technique was confined to Iceland, as other killer whale populations feeding on herring did not appear to use it.
Acoustic research
Scientists said the fact that the herding call had been recorded in the waters around Shetland suggested that the large groups of killer whales seen feeding offshore are part of the Icelandic herring-feeding population.
Volker Deecke said: "It illustrates the value of doing acoustic research when trying to determine the population identity of killer whale populations.
"Even a short recording of sounds can answer questions that could take years of work using other methods such as photographic identification of individuals".
Simon King said: "There is something about the beast from the deep rising up. It is just amazing.
"These are sentient animals, with complex family structures, but being so close you really get the sense that there is so much more to these creatures than we currently know".
The research was funded by the Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland with additional support from Scottish Natural Heritage and SEERAD.
Researchers from Aberdeen and St Andrews Universities recorded the whales emitting a low-pitched noise which caused the fish to bunch up.
The mammals then stun the fish with their tails before eating them.
The scientists said this behaviour has not been seen anywhere else in the world.
The findings have come to light in the BBC2 series "Simon King's Shetland Diaries".
Whale researcher, Dr Volker Deecke, demonstrated how his team used underwater microphones to record unusual sounds made by killer whales.
They included a low-pitched noise that the researchers believe caused the herring to bunch up in a tight shoal.
The whales then slap the shoal with their tails to stun the fish before killing and feeding on them.
It is only a theory at this stage and studies will resume in the summer, but the evidence is described as compelling, even though this behaviour hasn't been seen before in any orcas anywhere else in the world.
The use of a herding call was first described from Iceland by research colleagues of Dr Deecke.
However, it was believed that this hunting technique was confined to Iceland, as other killer whale populations feeding on herring did not appear to use it.
Acoustic research
Scientists said the fact that the herding call had been recorded in the waters around Shetland suggested that the large groups of killer whales seen feeding offshore are part of the Icelandic herring-feeding population.
Volker Deecke said: "It illustrates the value of doing acoustic research when trying to determine the population identity of killer whale populations.
"Even a short recording of sounds can answer questions that could take years of work using other methods such as photographic identification of individuals".
Simon King said: "There is something about the beast from the deep rising up. It is just amazing.
"These are sentient animals, with complex family structures, but being so close you really get the sense that there is so much more to these creatures than we currently know".
The research was funded by the Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland with additional support from Scottish Natural Heritage and SEERAD.
zaterdag 9 januari 2010
Is Washington's orca baby boom a fluke?
SEATTLE -- A little over a year after researchers feared a drop in the Northwest's endangered killer whale population meant disaster, the number of orcas has bounced back with six new babies and no whales lost.
Though scientific evidence is skimpy, some whale experts say the good news might be the result of enough salmon for the majestic black-and-white mammals to eat. Others say so little is known about orcas that the baby boom could be due to any number of factors - or simply a statistical fluke.
Whatever the reason, they're overjoyed about the new arrivals.
"We're all very happy to see so many births," said Susan Berta of the Whidbey Island-based Orca Network.
"We're all hoping that they find lots of fish to keep them healthy and keep the mothers in good condition so they can feed the calves," she said.
The Center for Whale Research says that in 2008, eight orcas in the three pods, J, K and L, that make up the southern resident population in Washington and southwest British Columbia went missing and were presumed dead, including two females of reproductive age and the 98-year-old matriarch of K Pod. With just one surviving birth that year, the total in the three pods as of December 2008 dropped to 82.
That alarmed researchers - "This is a disaster," Ken Balcomb, a senior scientist at the San Juan Island-based center, said in October of that year.
But in 2009, no deaths were reported and five new calves were spotted, giving a December total of 87. A sixth infant was born Jan. 3 while its family, J Pod, was near Seattle on a winter visit, making it 88.
Both Balcomb and Howard Garrett, director of the Orca Network, think food might have something to do with it.
The whales feed on salmon - particularly chinook salmon, the largest and arguably tastiest of the Pacific species. Chinooks are listed as threatened or endangered in several Northwest waterways, including Puget Sound and the Columbia River.
"Unfortunately, they're very picky," Garrett said, with chinooks sometimes making up 80 percent of the whales' diet. It sounds simplistic, Garrett said, but "the way that we can tag the population fluctuations is directly from the chinook runs."
Taken as a whole, the runs in the region have held steady over at least the past two years, he said.
It's not that simple, said Brad Hanson, a wildlife biologist with the federal Northwest Fisheries Science Center in Seattle. He said that for much of the year, little is known about what salmon stocks the whales eat and where.
The southern orcas can range widely, from the north end of Canada's Vancouver Island to Northern California for K and L pods.
Depending on the river, he said, some salmon stocks are up, some down, some about average. And orcas face the same problem that bedevils all fishermen: hitting the right run at the right time under the right conditions.
"There's just so many different variables involved," Hanson said.
The three pods in the southern resident community - J Pod based in the San Juan Islands, K Pod in the Strait of Juan de Fuca and L Pod off the coast - are genetically and behaviorally distinct from other killer whales. Besides sticking to this region, their sounds are considered a unique dialect, they tend to mate only within their community and they usually gather each year to socialize in a "super pod" near the San Juans.
Orcas have a 17-month gestation period, so at least six of the whales were pregnant a year ago. From a distance it's hard to tell whether an orca is pregnant, so no one on land knew they were expecting when worries over the lost whales emerged.
Over the years the Center for Whale Research has tracked the southern population, their numbers have varied from a low of 71 in 1977 to a high of 97 in 1996, and the current total of 88 only matches the total in 2007.
It's also far below the 140 or so that lived here before dozens were captured for aquariums and parks in the 1960s and early '70s.
A 20 percent drop in their numbers in the late 1990s, blamed by many on pollution and dwindling salmon stocks, led to their listing as an endangered species. Experts estimate a long-term steady population of about 200 would be needed to take them off the list.
Experts caution that young orcas have a rough life - commonly, about 50 percent die in their first year - and that one good year isn't a recovery. Critical to their long-term survival, they say, will be cleaning up the marine environment and eliminating the toxic chemicals that collect in the whales' bodies, and restoring the region's once-massive salmon runs.
Still, Balcomb said: "I'm just optimistic that this year's bumper crop of babies will prove to be their investment in the future. And we should invest in the food resources for them and for us.
"We like salmon, too."
Though scientific evidence is skimpy, some whale experts say the good news might be the result of enough salmon for the majestic black-and-white mammals to eat. Others say so little is known about orcas that the baby boom could be due to any number of factors - or simply a statistical fluke.
Whatever the reason, they're overjoyed about the new arrivals.
"We're all very happy to see so many births," said Susan Berta of the Whidbey Island-based Orca Network.
"We're all hoping that they find lots of fish to keep them healthy and keep the mothers in good condition so they can feed the calves," she said.
The Center for Whale Research says that in 2008, eight orcas in the three pods, J, K and L, that make up the southern resident population in Washington and southwest British Columbia went missing and were presumed dead, including two females of reproductive age and the 98-year-old matriarch of K Pod. With just one surviving birth that year, the total in the three pods as of December 2008 dropped to 82.
That alarmed researchers - "This is a disaster," Ken Balcomb, a senior scientist at the San Juan Island-based center, said in October of that year.
But in 2009, no deaths were reported and five new calves were spotted, giving a December total of 87. A sixth infant was born Jan. 3 while its family, J Pod, was near Seattle on a winter visit, making it 88.
Both Balcomb and Howard Garrett, director of the Orca Network, think food might have something to do with it.
The whales feed on salmon - particularly chinook salmon, the largest and arguably tastiest of the Pacific species. Chinooks are listed as threatened or endangered in several Northwest waterways, including Puget Sound and the Columbia River.
"Unfortunately, they're very picky," Garrett said, with chinooks sometimes making up 80 percent of the whales' diet. It sounds simplistic, Garrett said, but "the way that we can tag the population fluctuations is directly from the chinook runs."
Taken as a whole, the runs in the region have held steady over at least the past two years, he said.
It's not that simple, said Brad Hanson, a wildlife biologist with the federal Northwest Fisheries Science Center in Seattle. He said that for much of the year, little is known about what salmon stocks the whales eat and where.
The southern orcas can range widely, from the north end of Canada's Vancouver Island to Northern California for K and L pods.
Depending on the river, he said, some salmon stocks are up, some down, some about average. And orcas face the same problem that bedevils all fishermen: hitting the right run at the right time under the right conditions.
"There's just so many different variables involved," Hanson said.
The three pods in the southern resident community - J Pod based in the San Juan Islands, K Pod in the Strait of Juan de Fuca and L Pod off the coast - are genetically and behaviorally distinct from other killer whales. Besides sticking to this region, their sounds are considered a unique dialect, they tend to mate only within their community and they usually gather each year to socialize in a "super pod" near the San Juans.
Orcas have a 17-month gestation period, so at least six of the whales were pregnant a year ago. From a distance it's hard to tell whether an orca is pregnant, so no one on land knew they were expecting when worries over the lost whales emerged.
Over the years the Center for Whale Research has tracked the southern population, their numbers have varied from a low of 71 in 1977 to a high of 97 in 1996, and the current total of 88 only matches the total in 2007.
It's also far below the 140 or so that lived here before dozens were captured for aquariums and parks in the 1960s and early '70s.
A 20 percent drop in their numbers in the late 1990s, blamed by many on pollution and dwindling salmon stocks, led to their listing as an endangered species. Experts estimate a long-term steady population of about 200 would be needed to take them off the list.
Experts caution that young orcas have a rough life - commonly, about 50 percent die in their first year - and that one good year isn't a recovery. Critical to their long-term survival, they say, will be cleaning up the marine environment and eliminating the toxic chemicals that collect in the whales' bodies, and restoring the region's once-massive salmon runs.
Still, Balcomb said: "I'm just optimistic that this year's bumper crop of babies will prove to be their investment in the future. And we should invest in the food resources for them and for us.
"We like salmon, too."
woensdag 6 januari 2010
Two killer whale types found in UK waters
Scientists have revealed that there is not one but two types of killer whale living in UK waters.
Each differs in its appearance and diet, with males of one type being almost two metres longer than the other.
The killer whales could be at an early stage of becoming two separate species, the researchers say.
The international group of scientists has published its results in the journal Molecular Ecology.
"It's exciting to think about two very different types of killer whale in the waters around Britain," says Dr Andy Foote from the University of Aberdeen, UK, who undertook the study.
"Killer whales aren't really a species that we think of as being a regular visitor to Britain, but in fact we have two forms of these killer whales in our waters," he told the BBC.
Scientists have found different forms of killer whale that occupy particular niches in the Pacific and the Antarctic, but this is the first time that they have been described in the North Atlantic.
Dr Andy Foote undertook the study along with colleagues from universities and museums in Denmark and the UK.
Killer whales (Orcinus orca), otherwise called orcas, live in family groups called pods.
As the largest member of the dolphin family, killer whales are known for their intelligence and range of hunting behaviours.
Tooth work
There was very little prior to this study to suggest that different types of killer whale would be found in the North Atlantic.
However, Dr Foote and colleagues studied teeth from remains of killer whales stranded over the past 200 years and found a difference in tooth wear.
"We found that one form, which we call 'type 1' had severely worn teeth in all adult specimens," explains Dr Foote.
"The other form, 'type 2', had virtually no tooth wear even in the largest adults."
In the wild, killer whales that "suck up" herring and mackerel display this tooth wear.
Knowing this, the researchers suspected a difference in diet and ecological niche between the two groups.
Dolphin predator
Using stable isotope analysis that gives clues to the orcas' diet, the scientists found that type 1 is a generalist feeder, consuming fish and seals.
Type 2, on the other hand, is a specialist feeder that scientists suspect exclusively feeds on marine mammals such as small dolphins and whales.
This specialisation for alternative ecological niches has also resulted in a difference in shape and appearance.
"The two types also differed in length, with type 2 adult males being almost two metres larger than types 1 males," Dr Foote says.
The researchers also found that colour, pattern and number of teeth vary between the groups.
Dr Foote says the fish feeding type 1 killer whales are found across the North East Atlantic and around Britain.
The cetacean hunting type 2 killer whales are regularly seen off the west coast of Scotland and Ireland.
New species
Genetic analysis indicates the two types belong to two different populations.
"Type 1 specimens were from closely related populations, but the type 2 whales were more closely related to a group of Antarctic killer whales," Dr Foote explains.
Comparing the findings with studies on killer whales around the world shows that killer whales have radiated to fill different ecological niches.
"It's similar to how Darwin's finches have adapted to different ecological roles in the Galapagos, but on a larger scale," Dr Foote notes.
He suggests this could be an important discovery for the future of the animals.
"They seem to have occupied completely different ecological niches and have started to diverge morphologically. This divergence may eventually lead to the two types becoming different species."
He also recommends the two types be considered "evolutionary significant units" and monitored separately in order to more effectively conserve one of the oceans most charismatic animals.
Each differs in its appearance and diet, with males of one type being almost two metres longer than the other.
The killer whales could be at an early stage of becoming two separate species, the researchers say.
The international group of scientists has published its results in the journal Molecular Ecology.
"It's exciting to think about two very different types of killer whale in the waters around Britain," says Dr Andy Foote from the University of Aberdeen, UK, who undertook the study.
"Killer whales aren't really a species that we think of as being a regular visitor to Britain, but in fact we have two forms of these killer whales in our waters," he told the BBC.
Scientists have found different forms of killer whale that occupy particular niches in the Pacific and the Antarctic, but this is the first time that they have been described in the North Atlantic.
Dr Andy Foote undertook the study along with colleagues from universities and museums in Denmark and the UK.
Killer whales (Orcinus orca), otherwise called orcas, live in family groups called pods.
As the largest member of the dolphin family, killer whales are known for their intelligence and range of hunting behaviours.
Tooth work
There was very little prior to this study to suggest that different types of killer whale would be found in the North Atlantic.
However, Dr Foote and colleagues studied teeth from remains of killer whales stranded over the past 200 years and found a difference in tooth wear.
"We found that one form, which we call 'type 1' had severely worn teeth in all adult specimens," explains Dr Foote.
"The other form, 'type 2', had virtually no tooth wear even in the largest adults."
In the wild, killer whales that "suck up" herring and mackerel display this tooth wear.
Knowing this, the researchers suspected a difference in diet and ecological niche between the two groups.
Dolphin predator
Using stable isotope analysis that gives clues to the orcas' diet, the scientists found that type 1 is a generalist feeder, consuming fish and seals.
Type 2, on the other hand, is a specialist feeder that scientists suspect exclusively feeds on marine mammals such as small dolphins and whales.
This specialisation for alternative ecological niches has also resulted in a difference in shape and appearance.
"The two types also differed in length, with type 2 adult males being almost two metres larger than types 1 males," Dr Foote says.
The researchers also found that colour, pattern and number of teeth vary between the groups.
Dr Foote says the fish feeding type 1 killer whales are found across the North East Atlantic and around Britain.
The cetacean hunting type 2 killer whales are regularly seen off the west coast of Scotland and Ireland.
New species
Genetic analysis indicates the two types belong to two different populations.
"Type 1 specimens were from closely related populations, but the type 2 whales were more closely related to a group of Antarctic killer whales," Dr Foote explains.
Comparing the findings with studies on killer whales around the world shows that killer whales have radiated to fill different ecological niches.
"It's similar to how Darwin's finches have adapted to different ecological roles in the Galapagos, but on a larger scale," Dr Foote notes.
He suggests this could be an important discovery for the future of the animals.
"They seem to have occupied completely different ecological niches and have started to diverge morphologically. This divergence may eventually lead to the two types becoming different species."
He also recommends the two types be considered "evolutionary significant units" and monitored separately in order to more effectively conserve one of the oceans most charismatic animals.
maandag 4 januari 2010
J47 born to J35
January 4th, 2010
Annual Southern Resident Killer Whale population count reported to US National Marine Fisheries Service.
The Endangered Southern Resident Killer Whale (SRKW) population increased in 2009 to 87 individuals as of December 31, 2009, a net increase of two during a year in which three resident whales are missing and five were born. Three of the new babies were born into J pod, the most frequently observed of the three pods (J, K, and L) that frequent the Pacific Northwest inland marine waters of the Salish Sea. No sooner had the census report been made to the government than another new baby killer whale appeared in J pod, this one to a twelve year old female on 3 January 2010! For the time being, that means the SRKW population is back up to 88! We are optimistic that this “baby boom” in J pod represents a comeback for the resident population that went into steep decline in the mid 1990’s. Now, their survival and continued population recovery depends upon sufficient food supplies (wild salmon, particularly Chinook) in future years in this region. The whales are traveling as far as California and Haida Gwai (Queen Charlotte Islands) searching for these nutritious fish, but they keep coming back to the Salish Sea. If the whales could talk to us, they would probably say that our effort to promote wild salmon recovery in the Pacific Northwest is good for all of us, so lets do all that we can. And, lets clean up the pollution, too, so we can all eat healthy fish.
Annual Southern Resident Killer Whale population count reported to US National Marine Fisheries Service.
The Endangered Southern Resident Killer Whale (SRKW) population increased in 2009 to 87 individuals as of December 31, 2009, a net increase of two during a year in which three resident whales are missing and five were born. Three of the new babies were born into J pod, the most frequently observed of the three pods (J, K, and L) that frequent the Pacific Northwest inland marine waters of the Salish Sea. No sooner had the census report been made to the government than another new baby killer whale appeared in J pod, this one to a twelve year old female on 3 January 2010! For the time being, that means the SRKW population is back up to 88! We are optimistic that this “baby boom” in J pod represents a comeback for the resident population that went into steep decline in the mid 1990’s. Now, their survival and continued population recovery depends upon sufficient food supplies (wild salmon, particularly Chinook) in future years in this region. The whales are traveling as far as California and Haida Gwai (Queen Charlotte Islands) searching for these nutritious fish, but they keep coming back to the Salish Sea. If the whales could talk to us, they would probably say that our effort to promote wild salmon recovery in the Pacific Northwest is good for all of us, so lets do all that we can. And, lets clean up the pollution, too, so we can all eat healthy fish.
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