PacMam Podcast

Mammal eating killer whales (often termed transients or Bigg's killer whales) feed on many different species, even larger whales - including humpback whales. An adult doesn't have to worry too much - they are too big, with defenses that can protect them. But killer whales do attack young calves. So it would make sense that adult humpbacks defend their young, or other humpback whales. But they don't stop there! They have been documented to seeminly come to the aid of other species, including seal, sea lions and other cetaceans. Why would they expend the energy (sometimes coming from miles away, and spending minutes to hours in the encounter), and risk injury to stop killer whales from attacking another species? Is it interspecific altruism, or a side effect of a behavior for another purpose? Join us as we discuss this very interesting paper, learn what defenses humpbacks have and what possible reasons they have for doing this seeminly benevolent behavior!

Paper available: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/mms.12343

Mammal eating killer whales (often termed transients or Bigg's killer whales) feed on many different species, even larger whales - including humpback whales. An adult doesn't have to worry too much - they are too big, with defenses that can protect them. But killer whales do attack young calves. So it would make sense that adult humpbacks defend their young, or other humpback whales. But they don't stop there! They have been documented to seeminly come to the aid of other species, including seal, sea lions and other cetaceans. Why would they expend the energy (sometimes coming from miles away, and spending minutes to hours in the encounter), and risk injury to stop killer whales from attacking another species? Is it interspecific altruism, or a side effect of a behavior for another purpose? Join us as we discuss this very interesting paper, learn what defenses humpbacks have and what possible reasons they have for doing this seeminly benevolent behavior!

Paper available: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/mms.12343

https://iwc.int/about-whales/whale-species/brydes-whale

https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/resource/peer-reviewed-research/genetic-evidence-reveals-unique-lineage-brydes-whales-northern-gulf

https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/southeast/marine-mammal-protection/how-gulf-mexico-brydes-whale-became-rices-whale

Dr. Roger Payne is a giant in the world of marine mammal science. He is the reason "Save the Whales" is phrase, and why we still have whales to save. He recently passed away at the age of 88. In this episode we give some background on who is was, what he did that was so important, his legacy, and what we can learn from him and how we can continue the work he started.

This is the last article Roger wrote (5 days prior to his death) for Time magazine: https://time.com/6284884/whale-scientist-last-please-save-the-species/?fbclid=IwAR3z_Cnqls3E-FEcqeHveCqEFSWflR4tB93HhlK43CuX0LiyzNdgP6NQja8

https://oceanwide-expeditions.com/blog/mysteries-of-antarctica-the-commerson-s-dolphin

https://seaworld.org/animals/facts/mammals/commersons-dolphin/

https://oceanwide-expeditions.com/to-do/wildlife/commerson-s-dolphin

Kyhn et al 2010 - Narrowband high frequency clicks:

Garaffo et al 2011 - Modeling habitat of Peales, Dusky and Commersons:

Yoshida et al 2014 - Sound variation in captivity:

Riccialdelli et al 2013 - Ontogenetic diet shift:       

You may have heard in the media about the killer whales in Spain, off the Iberian Peninsula, that have been interacting with boats. These have been occurring since 2020, but seem to be increasing in number and intensity. Three boats have now been sunk due to the interactins of the whales with the boats, mainly their rudders. Is this play that just goes to far? Is this aggression? Who are the individuals involved? What are the dangers to the whales, and to people? Join us as we discuss the recent 2022 paper that first describes these interactions, including what types of boats seem to be targeted, possible reasons, the individual whales involved, and what mitigation measures have been put in place. We then discuss how the media is portraying the most recent events, and how the reason they discuss is or is not based in scientific evidence, and how this plays into the conservation of this endangered subpopulation of whales.

The paper is available here: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/mms.12947

General

https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/ringed-seal

https://www.nwf.org/Educational-Resources/Wildlife-Guide/Mammals/Ringed-Seal

https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Pusa_hispida/

https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=ringedseal.main

Reimer et al 2018 – ringed seal and climate change

https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/eap.1855?casa_token=rjEuyFVtuNcAAAAA%3A9fIYA23r6nCvn01HzCZ3NfWs6OJbUXDkMBm-0aR3q-0BvIHOm0nAqSVPZa-vT7mF3XGFN1_CtTU2mtx4

Kunnasranta et al 2021 - review

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320720309666

Kelly et al 2010 – home ranges

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00300-010-0796-x

Riget et al 2013 - PFO pollution

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0045653513010989

Koivuniemi et al 2016 - photo-ID

https://www.int-res.com/abstracts/esr/v30/p29-36/

We are still learning about what and how harbor porpoises eat, here and around the world. In the waters around Spain, needle fish are a known part of the diet of harbor porpoises as well as other cetaceans in the area. What is interesting about that is that these animals eat fish head first, exclusively, we thought. This may have evolved to protect them from fish that have sharp spines or hard scales that could damage the soft tissue of the esophagus. But with needle fish, the danger lies more in the head (their mouth is long, sharp and full of teeth), so does it make sense to eat it head first? In this interesting note, the researchers document 3 cases where harbor porpoises ate needle fish... but tail first! Is this the normal way to eat this prey species, are these outliers, what is going on? Join us as we discuss what they found, why it is so interesting and why we still have so much to learn about what they are eating!

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Paper is available here: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/mms.12781

This would normally be a marine mammal highlight episode, but Assistant Research Director Kat is on a well deserved vacation, and it isn't the same without her on those episodes! So instead, we are bringing you a sneak peak into what you have access to if you subscribe to the podcast! Subscribers get ad free episodes, plus additional content. That content is made up of mini-episodes about updates from the field, summaries of talks or workshops we have gone to, and learning more about the team behind PacMam and more. This episode is a combo of updates from the field over the last week or so, and then a dive into how our Research Director, Dr. Cindy Elliser came to be here in the Pacific Northwest researching harbor porpoises (it began in the desert if you can believe that!). So sit back and enjoy, and be sure to subscribe if you want to hear more episodes like these!

Tokitae (Toki), or Lolita, is a Southern Resident killer whale (SRKW) that was taken as a 4 year old in 1970. She has been in captivity for 52 years at the Miami Seaquarium in a tank far too small (smaller than all guidelines set for captive orcas). For over 40 of those years she has been with no other orcas (sometimes she has a dolphin in her tank for company). There has been dedicated work for decades to get her released, and that possibility is actually on the horizon! The Dolphin Company (who recently bought the Seaquarium) retired her, and has entered into a binding contract with Friends of Lolita/Toki to release her back into her home waters. This is fantastic news, but there is still a lot of work to be done, and things that need to be considered. There are economic, ethical, social and biological factors that need to be considered in how this release will go, and what is ultimitely best for Toki. There are so many people that have come together to help this whale, and that is truly heartwarming. Vets, trainers, activists, native tribes, researchers, the public all want what is best for her. In this podcast we are not judging either side (keeping captive vs. release), but raising the various questions that we need to consider in this complicated, and emotional, situation in order to inform our decisions so that we do the best we can for Toki.