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 […]
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska – National Guard Civil Support Team units from twelve states, along with partnering local, state, and federal agencies and organizations, totaling approximately 250 people, participated in Exercise ORCA 2021 at various training locations in Anchorage, Matanuska-Susitna Valley, and Seward, May 17-20. Exercise ORCA 2021 was designed to allow all participants to respond […]
The impacts of predator loss and climate change are combining to devastate living reefs that have defined Alaskan kelp forests for centuries, according to new research published in Science. “We discovered that massive limestone reefs built by algae underpin the Aleutian Islands’ kelp forest ecosystem,” said Douglas Rasher, a senior research scientist at Bigelow Laboratory for […]