North Atlantic killer whale research; past, present and future

Foote, Andrew D.; Kuningas, Sanna; Samarra, Filipa I. P.

doi:10.1017/s0025315414000800

Cited by 7 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…The female killer whale, ‘Morgan’, stranded on the coast of the Netherlands and was then transferred to the Harderwijk Dolfinarium. A comparison of Morgan’s mitochondrial DNA sequence and learned vocal repertoire with a North Atlantic database indicated that she originated from the population of killer whales that forages primarily on the Norwegian spring-spawning stock of Atlantic herring Clupea harengus 21 . A 10 ml sample of whole blood was taken and immediately stored in a PAXgene Blood DNA Tube and PAXgene Blood RNA Tube for DNA and RNA extraction respectively.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Convergent evolution of the genomes of marine mammals

et al. 2015

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Marine mammals from different mammalian orders share several phenotypic traits adapted to the aquatic environment and are therefore a classic example of convergent evolution. To investigate convergent evolution at the genomic level, we sequenced and de novo assembled the genomes of three species of marine mammals (the killer whale, walrus and manatee) from three mammalian orders that share independently evolved phenotypic adaptations to a marine existence. Our comparative genomic analyses found that convergent amino acid substitutions were widespread throughout the genome, and that a subset were in genes evolving under positive selection and putatively associated with a marine phenotype. However, we found higher levels of convergent amino acid substitutions in a control set of terrestrial sister taxa to the marine mammals. Our results suggest that while convergent molecular evolution is relatively common, adaptive molecular convergence linked to phenotypic convergence is comparatively rare.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Convergent evolution of the genomes of marine mammals

et al. 2015

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“…Concurrent with the theoretical reemphasis of individual differences (Bolnick et al ., 2003), Kareiva (2001) highlighted the necessity of conserving individuals one by one for any species which had declined to the point where such action could save a population. Even a single male can contribute to population success, by way of male-mediated gene flow among killer whale lineages when and where overlap occurs (Foote et al ., 2014). Systemic over-fishing of potential prey, especially Atlantic herring (Melville, 2018; Archibald et al ., 2020; NEFMC, 2020; EAC, 2023) constitutes an immediate threat to many piscivorous species at both system and smaller spatial scales (e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Cetacean researchers continue to value opportunistic or incidental data in documenting occurrences, given the paucity of information about many species and the impediments to undertaking designed quantitative surveys (e.g. Santillan, 2011; Foote et al ., 2014; Reinhart et al ., 2014; Accardo et al ., 2018; Gibson et al ., 2020). Incidental sightings vary from point-location ‘first records’ of a single animal (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Opportunistic observation effort and seasonal-spatial fidelity: a qualitative approach, applied to an Orcinus orca first record

Melville

2023

J. Mar. Biol. Ass.

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This study formulates a qualitative image-based approach to establishing cetacean sightings’ effort at an ecosystem scale in the Gulf of Maine. As a first step, I investigate a rare set of long-term sightings (2008–2017, the study period) of a male killer whale (Orcinus orca) representing unusually consistent occurrences, without considering observation effort. Largely unknown, killer whale populations in the NW Atlantic are tiny, travelling over vast areas, and at risk of human-caused extinction. The synthesis uses opportunistic observations, reported mainly by recreational mariners and commercial fishers incorporated into data manipulations anonymously. Adding an effort index using the qualitative image-based approach, I then investigate the hypothesis that the killer whale sightings constitute seasonal-spatial fidelity to the greater GoM, the first documentation of fidelity patterns in the western Atlantic hemisphere. The analysis includes comparisons to frequency distributions of single killer whales in the gulf in the historical past as a baseline, i.e. post mid 1940s. Finally, the fidelity analysis reveals a substantial spatial anomaly in the recent sightings data for the northeastern GoM. An explanation for the emergent anomaly is pursued by analyses of indicators of the availability of Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus) [fisheries landings, Atlantic puffin (Fratercula arctica) chick diets] as potential prey in the NE gulf. With the development of complementary corroborative approaches to the analysis of incidental sightings, it is possible to chip away at impediments to the understanding of ecosystem attractants and deterrents with respect to cetacean distributions.

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“…Killer whales in the Northeast Pacific have been studied for decades, and vocal repertoires have been described for most resident and transient ecotypes (Ford, 1984;Sharpe et al, 2019;Madrigal et al, 2021;Selbmann et al, 2021). Vocal repertoires of Northeast Atlantic killer whales have only been described more recently (Deecke et al, 2011;Foote et al, 2014;Selbmann et al, 2021). For example, Norwegian killer whale pulsed calls exhibit strong harmonic banding, with fundamental frequencies that range between 0.04 and 4.8 kHz with durations between 0.11 and 2.2 s (Strager, 1995).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Killer Whale (Orcinus orca) Pulsed Calls in the Eastern Canadian Arctic

Sportelli¹,

Jones²,

Frasier³

et al. 2022

ARCTIC

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Killer whales (Orcinus orca) produce a variety of acoustic signal types used for communication: clicks, whistles, and pulsed calls. Discrete pulsed calls are highly stereotyped, repetitive, and unique to individual pods found around the world. Discriminating amongst pod specific calls can help determine population structure in killer whales and is used to track pod movements around oceans. Killer whale presence in the Canadian Arctic has increased substantially, but we have limited understanding of their ecology, movements, and stock identity. Two autonomous passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) hydrophones were deployed in the waters of Eclipse Sound and Milne Inlet, in northern Baffin Island, Nunavut, Canada, in August and September 2017. Eleven killer whale pulsed call types, three multiphonic and eight monophonic, are proposed and described using manual whistle contour extraction and feature normalization. Automated detection of echolocation clicks between 20 and 48 kHz demonstrated little to no overlap between killer whale calls and echolocation presumed to be narwhal, which suggests that narwhal remain audibly inconspicuous when killer whales are present. Describing the acoustic repertoire of killer whales seasonally present in the Canadian Arctic will aid in understanding their acoustic behaviour, seasonal movements, and ecological impacts. The calls described here provide a basis for future acoustic comparisons across the North Atlantic and aid in characterizing killer whale demographics and ecology, particularly for pods making seasonal incursions into Arctic waters.

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North Atlantic killer whale research; past, present and future

Cited by 7 publications

References 41 publications

Convergent evolution of the genomes of marine mammals

Convergent evolution of the genomes of marine mammals

Opportunistic observation effort and seasonal-spatial fidelity: a qualitative approach, applied to an Orcinus orca first record

Killer Whale (Orcinus orca) Pulsed Calls in the Eastern Canadian Arctic

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