The small size and isolation of the endangered population of Southern Resident killer whales in the Pacific Northwest have led to high levels of inbreeding. This inbreeding has contributed to their decline, which has continued as surrounding killer whale populations expand, according to research published in Nature Ecology and Evolution. The groundbreaking new study combined modern genomics […]
In the deep blue ocean just off the coast of Alaska, killer whales are now communicating with one another with clicks and whistles. Scientists are hearing them. Hannah Myers has listened to many hours of orca calls in the Gulf of Alaska. The University of Alaska Fairbanks graduate student often knows a killer whale’s family […]
[dropcap]B[/dropcap]ogoslof Island is the gray tip of a mountain that pokes from the choppy surface of the Bering Sea. The volcano stands alone just north of the Aleutians, far south of the larger islands of St. George and St. Paul. Nora Rojek, a biologist at the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge based in Homer, once […]
Drones will be used to discover more about the social lives of killer whales as part of new research which could help protect the species. Experts from the Universities of York, Exeter and the Center for Whale Research in Washington State, USA, believe drone footage could revolutionise our understanding of whale behaviour. Researchers have so […]