With population numbers so low, researchers believe inbreeding may be an issue for the critically endangered southern resident killer whale.
This Sept. 2015, photo provided by NOAA Fisheries shows an aerial view of adult female Southern Resident killer whale swimming with her calf . People have taken many steps in recent decades to help the Pacific Northwest's endangered killer whales, which have long suffered from starvation, pollution and the legacy of having many of their number captured for display in marine parks.
While that news sounds grim for the revered orcas - known as the “southern resident” killer whales - it also underscores the urgency of conservation efforts, said Kim Parsons, a geneticist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's NOAA Fisheries who co-authored the study. The population is not necessarily doomed, she said.
The southern resident population comprises three clans of whales known as the J, K and L pods. They are socially distinct and even communicate differently from other orca populations, including the nearby northern residents, which are listed as threatened and which primarily range from Vancouver Island up to southeast Alaska.
At least 13 orcas died in the roundups, and 45 were delivered to theme parks around the world - reducing the southern resident population by about 40%. The brutality of the captures began to draw public outcry and a lawsuit to stop them in Washington state. For the new research, NOAA geneticist Marty Kardos, Parsons and other colleagues sequenced the genomes of 100 living and dead southern residents, including 90% of those alive now. Those whales had lower levels of genetic diversity and higher levels of inbreeding than other populations of killer whales in the North Pacific, they found.
The Alaska resident killer whale population is estimated to have doubled from 1984 to 2010. According to the researchers, the southern residents would likely be on a similar trajectory if not for their elevated levels of inbreeding.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Inbreeding a big problem for endangered orcas, say researchersResearchers say the population of orcas has become so inbred that they are dying younger and their population is not recovering
Read more »
Researchers: Inbreeding a big problem for endangered southern resident killer whalesSo far, those efforts have had limited success, and research published Monday in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution suggests why: The whales are so…
Read more »
Explainer: What is a raccoon dog, and why missing Chinese samples have sparked frustration among those studying the coronavirus’s originsAs international researchers have tried to solve the origin of the coronavirus pandemic, vital clues from the Wuhan market have been withheld.
Read more »
Did the pandemic increase UFO sightings? Not really, study says, but Musk’s satellites might haveA slight increase in UFO sightings in 2020 compared to pre-pandemic years may not be because of the pandemic itself, but because of Elon Musk’s new internet satellites, researchers found.
Read more »
Trails of human bacteria from sneezing and coughing preserved on Mount Everest: studyEven at one of the tallest natural peaks on Earth, humans have left their mark in a trail of bacteria as researchers have found germs from coughing and sneezing that have been potentially preserved for centuries on Mount Everest.
Read more »
Inbreeding a big problem for endangered orcas, say researchersResearchers say the population of orcas has become so inbred that they are dying younger and their population is not recovering
Read more »