During the 181st Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America, which was held November 29-December 3, Brynn Kimber, from the University of Washington, discussed how killer whales have spent more time than formerly taped in the Arctic, following the decline in sea ice. The talk, “Tracking killer whale motions in the Alaskan Artic relative to a loss of sea ice,” occurred on Thursday, December 2, at 5:35 p.m. Eastern U.S. at the Hyatt Regency Seattle.
Killer whales are spending more time than previously taped in the Arctic Ocean, despite risks of ice entrapment there. Credit: Brynn Kimber
Killer whales will typically travel to various locations to target ranges of prey. In a research study consisting of 8 years of passive acoustic information, Kimber and their team monitored killer whale movements using acoustic tools, finding killer whales are spending more time than previously taped in the Arctic Ocean, despite threats of ice entrapment there. Their readings show this change is directly following the reduction in sea ice in the area.
” Its not necessarily that killer whales havent been reported in these areas prior to, however that they appear to be staying in the area for longer time periods,” stated Kimber. “This is likely in reaction to a longer open water season.”
If specific types of victim are not able to utilize the ice to prevent the extremely adaptive predator, the decrease in sea ice may have opened brand-new searching chances for killer whales. The threatened bowhead whale is vulnerable to predation by killer whales, likely to increase due to longer open water seasons.
” Although there is high spatial and interannual variability, the September Arctic sea ice minimum is declining at a typical rate of 13% per decade, when compared to worths from 1981 to 2010,” said Kimber. “Killer whales are being observed in the Chukchi Sea (in the Arctic Ocean) in months that were historically ice covered and more consistently throughout the summer.”
Meeting: 181st Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America
Melting ice opens new predation ground for killer whales as they spend more time in formerly disregarded territory.
Killer whales are intelligent, adaptive predators, frequently collaborating to remove bigger victim. Constant reduction in sea ice in the Arctic Ocean is opening areas to increased killer whale house and predation, potentially creating an environmental imbalance.
Killer whales will often take a trip to various locations to target varieties of victim. In a study including eight years of passive acoustic data, Kimber and their group monitored killer whale motions using acoustic tools, discovering killer whales are investing more time than formerly tape-recorded in the Arctic Ocean, regardless of risks of ice entrapment there. Their readings show this change is directly following the decrease in sea ice in the area.