Case definition: Killer whale predation as the cause of death in gray whales and other Pacific large whale species

Details

• Personal Author:
  Savage, Kate ; Keogh, Mandy ; Migura, Mandy ; Musbach, Jamie ; Greig, Denise ; Duignan, Padraig ; Flannery, Moe ; Huggins, Jessie ; Raverty, Stephen ; Rice, Jim ; Sheffield, Gay ; Stimmelmayr, Raphaela ; Willoughby, Amy ; Fauquier, Deborah
• Corporate Authors:
  United States. National Marine Fisheries Service. Alaska Regional Office. Protected Resources Division. ; Alaska Sea Grant College Program. ; United States. National Marine Fisheries Service. Office of Protected Resources. ; Cooperative Institute for Climate, Ocean, and Ecosystem Studies. ; Marine Mammal Laboratory (U.S.) ; Alaska Biosystems. ; Broad Conservation LLC. ; Ocean Associates Inc. ; The Marine Mammal Center. ; California Academy of Sciences. ; Cascadia Research Collective. ; Animal Health Center. ; Oregon State University. Marine Mammal Institute. ; North Slope Borough (Alaska). Department of Wildlife Management.
• NOAA Program & Office:
  NMFS (National Marine Fisheries Service) ; AKR (Alaska Region) ; AFSC (Alaska Fisheries Science Center) ; OPR (Office of Protected Resources) ; CICOES (Cooperative Institute for Climate, Ocean and Ecosystem Studies) ; Sea Grant
• Sea Grant Program:
  AKU (Alaska Sea Grant)
• Description:
  Killer whale predation has long been recognized as a source of mortality to large whale species in the Pacific Ocean. Mysticete and large odontocete species for which killer whale predation events have been documented include: gray, humpback, bowhead, minke, southern right, fin, blue, sei, and sperm whales. This case definition provides the first systematic method to assign a level of certainty of killer whale predation as a cause of death depending upon findings. The case definition can be used as part of hands-on examination of a carcass or when only sufficient imagery (i.e., photos, video) is available. The case definition can assist in determining the extent of killer whale predation, as well as spatial and temporal changes in predation. The assessment of predation can also be utilized to differentiate mortality events and in the evaluation of long-term ecological processes (e.g., changing environmental conditions and changing distribution of species).
• Keywords:
  Alaska Region Baleen Whale Killer Whale Large Whales Mortality Orca Predation Protected Resources Division Sperm Whale Strandings
• Series:
  NOAA technical memorandum NMFS-F/AKR   36
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.25923/sy6h-h690
• Format:
  pdf
• Document Type:
  Technical Memorandum
• License:
  https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/
• Rights Information:
  CC0 Public Domain
• Compliance:
  Submitted
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:499fbc96a8ed5d44fa2521a4940d1c36c26411cba75dbdbd0f2d8858795a071ffb6747c2bbf4ca858c616cf0971df8edcd3515a55c5683577a83d88005bee14e
• Download URL:
  https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/73150/noaa_73150_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.84 MB ]