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The southern resident orcas, also known as the southern resident killer whales (SRKW), are the smallest of four separate, non-interbreeding communities of the exclusively fish-eating
ecotype
In evolutionary ecology, an ecotype,Greek: ''οίκος'' = home and ''τύπος'' = type, coined by Göte Turesson in 1922 sometimes called ecospecies, describes a genetically distinct geographic variety, population, or race within a specie ...
of
orca
The orca or killer whale (''Orcinus orca'') is a toothed whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family, of which it is the largest member. It is the only extant species in the genus '' Orcinus'' and is recognizable by its black-and-white ...
in the northeast portion of the
North Pacific Ocean
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography.
Etymology
The word ''north'' i ...
. The fish-eating ecotype was historically given the name 'resident,' but other ecotypes are also resident in the area. The U.S.
National Marine Fisheries Service
The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), informally known as NOAA Fisheries, is a United States federal agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that is responsible for the ste ...
listed this distinct population segment of orcas as endangered, effective from 2005, under the
Endangered Species Act.
In Canada the SRKW are listed as endangered on
Species at Risk Act
The ''Species at Risk Act'' (SARA) (the ''Act'') is a piece of Canadian federal legislation which became law in Canada on December 12, 2002. It is designed to meet one of Canada's key commitments under the International Convention on Biological D ...
Schedule 1.
They are commonly referred to as "fish-eating orcas", "southern residents", or the "SRKW population". Unlike some other resident communities, the SRKW is only one clan (J) that consists of 3 pods (J, K, L) with several
matriline
Matrilineality is the tracing of kinship through the female line. It may also correlate with a social system in which each person is identified with their matriline – their mother's lineage – and which can involve the inheritance of ...
s within each pod.
As of July 2022 there were only 73 individuals (74 including the captive southern resident,
Lolita) in the annual census conducted by the Center for Whale Research.
The world's oldest known orca,
Granny or J2, had belonged to and led J pod of the SRKW population. J2 was estimated to have been born around 1911, which would mean she would have been 105 years old at the time of her disappearance and death which occurred probably in late 2016.
On July 24, 2018, the first calf born in three years died after being alive for only half an hour.
Social structure
Photo identification over the last 38 years has allowed researchers to track the southern resident population quite accurately, such as the Orca ID site
offered through the
Center for Whale Research. Their population is built upon a matrilineal system where these strong hierarchical groups of individuals are connected by maternal descent. Each matriline consists of a female, her sons and daughters and the offspring of her daughters; averaging anywhere from one to seventeen individuals and one to five generations within each of these matrilines.
Pods are groups of matrilines that share a maternal ancestor, in which the southern residents consist of three pods. The number of individuals changes due to birth and deaths.
The following is the basic social structure:
;Community
: Southern Resident
;Clan
: J
;Pods
: J Pod ''(25 members)''
: K Pod ''(16 members)''
: L Pod ''(32 members)''
;Matrilines
Note that in several matrilines the matriarch is absent because deceased; nonetheless her descendants continue to associate as a group. Year of survey is 2022.
J11s: J27, J31, J39, J56
J14s: J37, J40, J45, J49, J59
J16s: J16, J26, J36, J42
J17s: J35, J44, J46, J47, J53, J57
J19s: J19, J41, J51, J58
J22s: J22, J38
K12s: K12, K22, K33, K37, K43
K13s: K20, K27, K34, K38, K45
K14s: K14, K26, K36, K42
K16s: K16, K35
L4s: L55, L82, L86, L103, L106, L109, L116, L118, L123, L125
L11s: L77, L94, L113, L119, L121, L124
L22s: L22, L85, L87
L25: L25 the oldest southern resident has no surviving close relatives except probably the captive southern resident
Tokitae aka Lolita. L25 travels with the L22s and L11s.
L47s: L83, L91, L110, L115, L122
L54s: L54, L108, L117, plus the unrelated L88 who is an adult male born in 1993 with no living close relatives and who always travels with the L54s.
L72s: L72, L105
L90: L90 is an adult female born 1993 who has no living close relatives. She associates with the L47s.
While J Pod always travels as a unit, and so does K Pod, L Pod orcas are usually encountered in two separate regular units traveling apart. The L4s, L47s, L90, and L72s are one consistent group; the L11s, L22s, L25, and L54s are the other; but sometimes the four L54s strikingly travel independently of all the others.
Recent births and deaths
In 2014, L120 was born into L pod but didn't survive more than a month. In late 2014,
J50 Scarlet was born into the J pod. After a lot of speculation, J16 Slick was confirmed to be J50's mother, making the 42-year-old the oldest ever recorded orca mother. The gender of the calf is confirmed to be female.
In February 2015, two new calves were spotted, a male calf in J pod, designated J51 Nova, and another male in L pod, designated L121 Windsong. J51's mother is ten-year-old J41 Eclipse and L121's mother is twenty-year-old L94 Calypso. A fourth calf, designated J52 was born in March 2015 to J36 Alki, who is J16's daughter. In early 2016, J52 Sonic was confirmed to be male, however he died in September 2017, presumably from starvation.
In August 2018, the pod attracted international attention after the death of a female calf born to
J35 Tahlequah and the sickness and death of another calf, J50.
In January 2019, L124 Whistle was born to L77 Matia and is her third calf. In May 2019, J56 Tofino was born to J31 Tsuchi as her first calf and her gender was later confirmed as female.
In September 2020, J57 Phoenix was first seen traveling with
J35 Tahlequah and is her second calf. His gender was determined as male a short time later. On September 24, 2020, J58 Crescent's birth was observed and she was confirmed as the second calf of J41 Eclipse by the Center for Whale Research the next day. Her gender was later confirmed as female by the Center for Whale Research.
In 2021, there was only one birth, L125 Element to L86 Surprise!. L125 is L86's second living offspring, and a female.
She was first encountered in February, when her size indicated she was about a month old.
In February 2022, J37 Hy'Shqa was seen with a new calf, designated J59. This is J37's second surviving calf. The calf's gender was revealed to be female on May 29, 2022.
In April 2022, K20 Spock was seen with a new calf, designated K45. This is K20's second calf, and the first calf born in K Pod since 2011. K45 was identified as female by
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO; french: Pêches et Océans Canada, MPO), is a department of the Government of Canada that is responsible for developing and implementing policies and programs in support of Canada's economic, ecological and sci ...
in October 2022, and given the name Prosper by
The Whale Museum
The Whale Museum is a natural history museum located in Friday Harbor, Washington. Founded in 1979, The Whale Museum is dedicated to the interpretation of whales in the wild. Its mission is to promote the stewardship of wild whales in the Salish S ...
in November 2022.
Only two calves were born in 2022, and the total population of the Southern Residents has fallen to one of its lowest numbers since 1974, when 71 individuals were counted following the live-capture era. Only 73 Southern Residents were counted in the July 1, 2022 census conducted by the Center for Whale Research. This consisted of 32 whales in L Pod, its lowest point since 1976, 16 orcas in K Pod, its lowest in the last 20 years, and 25 in J Pod, which remained stable. In the year up to July 2022, three individuals died: K21, K44, and L89. From 1998 to 2022, 46 southern resident orca calves have been born and survived, while 81 southern residents have died.
Dialect
Similar dialects amongst pods create the social grouping called "clans". It is believed that the more similar their dialect is within the pods, the more closely related they are. The southern dialect is very different from that of other communities. For instance, northern residents use whistles as their main type of close-range communication and the southern residents use whistles for regular social interactions and long-range communications. Southern residents appear to be much more vocal but it could be due to their vocal usage during travel and the fact that they seem to travel more than the northern residents.
Location
The southern residents have been seen off the coast of California,
Oregon
Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...
,
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
, and
Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are of land. The island is the largest by ...
,
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
. Historic sightings and more recent data from satellite-tagged individuals show frequent use of coastal waters as far south as
Monterey Bay
Monterey Bay is a bay of the Pacific Ocean located on the coast of the U.S. state of California, south of the San Francisco Bay Area and its major city at the south of the bay, San Jose. San Francisco itself is further north along the coast, by ...
, California in the winter and early spring. Members of L pod have been seen as far north as southeast Alaska. During the late spring through fall, the southern residents tend to travel around the inland waterways of
Puget Sound
Puget Sound ( ) is a sound of the Pacific Northwest, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean, and part of the Salish Sea. It is located along the northwestern coast of the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected ma ...
, the
Strait of Juan de Fuca
The Strait of Juan de Fuca (officially named Juan de Fuca Strait in Canada) is a body of water about long that is the Salish Sea's outlet to the Pacific Ocean. The international boundary between Canada and the United States runs down the centre ...
, and southern
Georgia Strait
The Strait of Georgia (french: Détroit de Géorgie) or the Georgia Strait is an arm of the Salish Sea between Vancouver Island and the extreme southwestern mainland coast of British Columbia, Canada and the extreme northwestern mainland coast ...
- an area known as the
Salish Sea
, image = PNW-straits.jpg
, alt =
, caption = The Salish Sea, showing the open Pacific Ocean at lower left, and from there, heading inland: the Strait of Juan de Fuca, the narrow Puget Sound at lower ri ...
.
More information is now available about their range and movements during the winter months, which appears to follow the return of
Chinook salmon
The Chinook salmon (''Oncorhynchus tshawytscha'') is the largest and most valuable species of Pacific salmon in North America, as well as the largest in the genus '' Oncorhynchus''. Its common name is derived from the Chinookan peoples. Other ...
to major rivers in California and North America's
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Tho ...
region.
Relationship with the Lummi Nation
The Lummi Nation has had a relationship with southern resident killer whales in the Salish Sea for thousands of years. Early proof of this can be seen in the recorded oral tradition of the tribes in the Puget Sound with the story "The Two Brothers' Journey to the North", which was first recorded in the mid-1850s. The Lummi Nation refer to the southern resident killer whales as qwe'lhol'mechen, which translates to "people beneath the waves".
The term Sk'aliCh'elh is used to refer to the J, K, and L pods of the Southern Resident orcas by their "Lummi family name".
The Lummi Nation considers the southern resident killer whales as kin and has sacred ceremonies dedicated to them.
Due to pollution, lack of prey, and previous whaling efforts, the orcas’ populations have recently been in decline. The Lummi have been making efforts using Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) to support the orca population.
They are concerned about the future of the orcas if environmental issues that negatively impact the orcas continue to persist, and have been seeking support from agencies with the government to work harder in upholding the integrity of orca populations.
J17, or Princess Angeline, is one such orca that has been under the care of the Lummi people in recent years. Before J17 passed away in 2019, the Lummi people practiced orca feeding ceremonies with J17.
The ceremony for the spiritual feeding involves first leaving the mainland on a boat to find a proper location. Next is the releasing of live and dead salmon, the live salmon to feed J17, and the dead salmon to honor the qwe'lhol mechen ancestors. The purpose of the ceremony is to hope that the condition of the orcas improves as well as to honor the orcas' ancestors.
In relation to such feedings, Lummi matriarch Raynell Morris has explained that "Here at Lummi when we see a relative starving, we don’t go in and do medical tests to see how much they are starving. We know they are and we do the right thing and we feed them."
Distinguishing features
*Dorsal fin: rounded at the tip (leading edge) and positioned over the rear insertion of the fin towards the back.
*Saddle patch: typically seen as an "open" saddle patch; five different pigmentation patterns have been reported with similarities noted among clans within a community.
Diet
Southern residents are fish-eating orcas that appear to prefer the Chinook salmon to other fish species. From visual sources, necropsy, and feces collection, the following food preferences have been reported:
*Salmon 97%
*:
Chinook (78% in late spring and fall)
*:
Chum (11%, more so in fall)
*:
Coho
The coho salmon (''Oncorhynchus kisutch;'' Karuk: achvuun) is a species of anadromous fish in the salmon family and one of the five Pacific salmon species. Coho salmon are also known as silver salmon or "silvers". The scientific species name is ...
(5%)
*:
Steelhead
Steelhead, or occasionally steelhead trout, is the common name of the anadromous form of the coastal rainbow trout or redband trout (O. m. gairdneri). Steelhead are native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific basin in Northeast Asia and ...
(2%)
*:
Sockeye
The sockeye salmon (''Oncorhynchus nerka''), also called red salmon, kokanee salmon, blueback salmon, or simply sockeye, is an anadromous species of salmon found in the Northern Pacific Ocean and rivers discharging into it. This species is a P ...
(1%)
*Other fish 3%
*:e.g.
Pacific herring
The Pacific herring (''Clupea pallasii'') is a species of the herring family associated with the Pacific Ocean environment of North America and northeast Asia. It is a silvery fish with unspined fins and a deeply forked caudal fin. The distribut ...
and
quillback rockfish
They can be known to play with porpoise.
Threats
The major threats to this very small community have been listed as:
*Decreased prey availability
*Pollution and contaminants
*Effects from vessels traffic and vessel sound
Decline in prey
The depletion of large quantities of fish in the marine environments, while personal fishing in the salmon's upstream spawning grounds have further depleted stock replenishment. Aquaculture has had a negative effect on world fish supplies, including through the spread of pathogens to the wild fish stock. A study also found that Chinook salmon found in South Puget Sound have less fat than those farther north, causing an increased need for consumption. Due to four dams in the
Lower Snake River Dam System, native salmon flow has been heavily restricted, endangering both Chinook Salmon and Southern Resident Killer Whales.
Chemical contamination
Northwest orca are among the most contaminated marine mammals in the world, due to the high levels of toxic anthropogenic chemicals that accumulate in their tissues. Implicated in the decline of orca populations in the Pacific Northwest, these widespread contaminants pose a large problem for conservation efforts. While many chemicals can be found in the tissues of orca, the most common are the insecticide
DDT
Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, commonly known as DDT, is a colorless, tasteless, and almost odorless crystalline chemical compound, an organochloride. Originally developed as an insecticide, it became infamous for its environmental impacts. ...
,
polybrominated diphenyl ethers
Polybrominated diphenyl ethers or PBDEs, are a class of organobromine compounds that are used as flame retardants. Like other brominated flame retardants, PBDEs have been used in a wide array of products, including building materials, electronics, ...
(PBDEs) and
polychlorinated biphenyl
Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are highly carcinogenic chemical compounds, formerly used in industrial and consumer products, whose production was banned in the United States by the Toxic Substances Control Act in 1979 and internationally by t ...
s (PCBs). Each of these have detrimental physiological effects on orca,
[Ross, P.S, G.M Ellis, et al. "High PCB Concentrations in Free- Ranging Pacific Killer Whales, Orcinus orca: Effects of Age, Sex and Dietary Preference." Marine Pollution Bulletin. 40.6 (2000): 504–515] and can be found in such high concentrations in dead individuals that those individuals must be disposed of in hazardous waste sites.
Correlative evidence shows orca may be vulnerable to effects of PCBs on many levels. Research has identified PCBs as being linked to restricting development of the reproductive system in orcas and dolphins. High contamination levels leads to low pregnancy rates and high mortality in dolphins. Further effects include endocrine and immune system disruption, both systems being critical to mammalian health and survival.
[ A study examining 35 Northwest orcas found key genetic alterations that caused changes to normal physiological functions. These genetic level interferences, combined with the varied effects of PCBs at other physiological levels, suggest these contaminants may be partially responsible for declines in orca populations.
Many of the chemicals that have been found to be toxic to the orca population continue to be widely used.] Conservation efforts are said to have difficulty making progress if the chemicals that harm the orcas continue to pollute the water they live in.
Marine noise
Noise and crowding from tour boats and larger vessels interrupt foraging behavior, or scare away prey. The noise can mask echolocation causing difficulty with catching prey. Also, sonar is speculated to cause hemorrhaging, and possibly death.
Previous captures
Population numbers
Before the 20th century, orca populations in the Salish Sea likely numbered over 200. From 1964 to 1976, approximately 47 southern resident orcas were captured to be taken to aquariums, and possibly a dozen or more died during capture attempts. While the capture of these whales was banned in Canada in 1976, the number of whales was reduced significantly and there were only 71 remaining in the population. Since then, the orca population in the Salish Sea has fluctuated from a low of 71 to a high of 98 in 1995 and declining again to reach the status of endangered that it holds today.
Yukon Harbor capture
The first large capture event was the Yukon Harbor capture on the west side of Puget Sound
Puget Sound ( ) is a sound of the Pacific Northwest, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean, and part of the Salish Sea. It is located along the northwestern coast of the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected ma ...
in 1967.[Colby, pp. 103-104.] Of the 15 trapped southern residents, three died, and five were taken into captivity.[Colby, pp. 103-106.] They were from K Pod,[Colby, p. 105.] now the smallest pod.
1970 Penn Cove capture
On a single day in 1970 in Penn Cove
Whidbey Island (historical spellings Whidby, Whitbey, or Whitby) is the largest of the islands composing Island County, Washington, in the United States, and the largest island in Washington State. (The other large island is Camano Island, ...
off Whidbey Island
Whidbey Island (historical spellings Whidby, Whitbey, or Whitby) is the largest of the islands composing Island County, Washington, in the United States, and the largest island in Washington State. (The other large island is Camano Island, ...
in Washington state
Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...
, approximately 80 orcas were herded into net pens and 7 young orcas were captured to be placed in aquariums and theme parks. The orca commonly known as Tokitae, or as Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut to the Lummi, was captured during this event, and is the only orca from the event still alive in captivity, at the Miami Seaquarium
The Miami Seaquarium is a oceanarium located on the island of Virginia Key in Biscayne Bay, Miami-Dade County, Florida located near downtown Miami.
Founded in 1955, it is one of the oldest oceanariums in the United States. In addition to marin ...
.
Conservation efforts
Both NOAA and the Lummi Nation have been making efforts to feed bolster the Southern Resident population, however, there is disagreement in the types of conservation efforts that should be implemented. The Lummi believe that immediate action is necessary in order to sustain the already unhealthy orca populations, while NOAA believes in observing before taking action. The Lummi are using "traditional ecological knowledge" practices to help sustain the orca population, including feeding of malnourished individuals, which has been criticized by NOAA as unsustainable. The groups have worked together though to create "helpful protocols" and strive for the overall wellbeing of the orcas.
There was a Washington state-wide task force created in March 2018 to make recommendations on how to preserve the Southern Residents from extinction. Some of the recommendations include stopping the use of hormone disruptors and other toxins in consumer products and removing dams that interfere with the salmon's access to breeding grounds.
Current conservation efforts are listed as:
* Support salmon restoration efforts
* Clean up existing contaminated sites
* Continue evaluating and improving guidelines for vessel activity
* Prevent oil spills
* Continue Agency coordination
* Enhance public awareness
* Improve responses to live and dead orcas
* Coordinate monitoring, research, enforcement
* Conduct research
* Cooperation and coordination
On October 31, 2018, the Government of Canada
The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown ...
committed $61.5 million to implement new protections for the Southern Residents.
See also
* Northern resident killer whale
* List of cetaceans
Cetacea is an infraorder that comprises the 94 species of whales, dolphins, and porpoises. It is divided into toothed whales (Odontoceti) and baleen whales (Mysticeti), which diverged from each other in the Eocene some 50 million years ago (m ...
* Michael Bigg
Michael Andrew Bigg (December 22, 1939 – October 18, 1990) was an English-born Canadian marine biologist who is recognized as the founder of modern research on killer whales. With his colleagues, he developed new techniques for studying kille ...
* Orca types and populations
References
General references
*{{cite book , last=Colby , first=Jason M. , title=Orca: how we came to know and love the ocean's greatest predator , year= 2018 , publisher= Oxford University Press , location=Oxford , isbn=9780190673116
External links
The Center for Whale Research
Orca Network Learning Center Portal
Puget Sound Orcas Vital Sign indicator: Number of Southern Resident Killer Whales
Orca Behavior Institute
Endemic fauna of the Pacific Northwest
Orcas
Cetaceans of the Pacific Ocean
Puget Sound
ESA endangered species