Killer whales are expanding their territory into Arctic waters due to melting sea ice, posing potential threats to other whale species like belugas, narwhals, and bowheads. This shift could disrupt Arctic food webs, impacting the social and economic well-being of northern communities.
Killer whales are shown in the Eastern Canadian Arctic in this undated handout photo. Killer whales are expanding their territory and have moved into Arctic waters as climate change melts sea ice, with two genetically distinct populations being identified by Canadian researchers. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO, Maha Ghazal
The study says the orcas could also affect humans, by “adding top-down pressure on Arctic food webs crucial to northern communities' social and economic well-being.” Garroway said killer whales were once thought infrequent Arctic visitors, since they risked breaking their famous dorsal fins on ice.Garroway said researchers took tissue samples from the orcas “and we were super surprised that there are actually two highly distinct populations.”
Hundreds of thousands of beluga, narwhal, bowhead, sperm whales, and bottlenose whales live in the Arctic orcas' territories, he noted.
Orcas Arctic Climate Change Food Webs Ecosystem Disruption
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