Killer Whale Research

HAVE ANY PHOTOS OR REPORTS OF KILLER WHALES? WE ARE LOOKING FOR CONTRIBUTORS! PLEASE SHARE YOUR STORY WITH US AT killerwhales@seasearch.co.za

 

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Killer whales are one of the oceans most iconic species, capturing scientific and public interest alike. However, when compared to other parts of the world, these animals are severely understudied around continental southern Africa. In our attempt to change this, we’re leading a multi-aspect, collaborative project on killer whales to establish a baseline of scientific understanding to benefit conservation and management regimes

GENERAL PROJECT – Studying long-term changes in killer whale behaviour and ecology through the collation of sightings, movements and predation records around Southern Africa, including interactions with the long-line industry – we welcome continued contributions!

GENERAL PROJECT – Collating a ‘national’ catalogue of killer whales using photographic identification images collected from research vessels, collaborators and opportunistic sightings. Again – we welcome any and all contributions!

GENERAL PROJECT – Coordinating efforts around the western Cape to collect skin samples for analysis as part of a broader consortium studying the genetics, diet and pollutant loads of killer whales globally but with a focus on the southern African subregoin and associated sub-Antarctic Islands – Collaboration with the Marion Island Marine Mammal Project (Nico  De Bruyn, Ryan Resinger and Rowan Jordaan), Rus Hoelzel (Durham University, UK), DEFF (Mdu Seakamela and team), MRI Whale Unit, and other local partners including Simons Town Boat Company, and the Dyer Island Conservation Trust

PhD PROJECT – Aaron Barnes – Population structure, dietary variation, demographics and ecological impacts of southern African and the Southwest Indian Ocean killer whales

Aaron’s PhD project aims to establish a baseline of knowledge on killer whale biology around southern Africa, extending to the sub-Antarctic Islands of the Indian ocean. His project aims to explore key biological factors that explain large components of killer whale distribution, diets and use of ecosystems. Aaron will include investigations into genetic connectivity and diversity, contemporary diet assessments using stable isotopes derived from biopsies, historical diet through the drilling of killer whale teeth for stable isotopes, the role of tuna and other species stolen from fishing gear in killer whale diets, a comparison of photo-identification catalogues between all areas included in his study, and lastly to model the ecological effects of the competition between humans and killer whales for tuna within the ecosystems found within South Africa’s fishing grounds.

MSc PROJECT – Lindiwe Makapela – Understanding marine mammal interactions with two commercial long line fisheries to develop mitigation solutions

Lindiwe’s MSc project ius split between killer whales and Cape Fur Seals over the tuna and hake fisheries, respectively. Specifically, she aims to investigate and quantify killer whale depredation and trends on large pelagic longline fisheries over the past two decades and to understand the operational (related to fishing behaviors and effort) and environmental (related to the natural ecology of marine mammals and the environmental conditions) factors driving variation.