Prey, Vessel and Toxin Effects on Southern Resident Killer Whales
The population of Southern Resident Killer Whales (SRKW), who consume 80% of their diet from salmon, is at 30-year low. We know the main threats include a lack of prey, contaminants, and vessel noise disturbance. To improve the collection of relevant data, Prof. Sam Wasser and his team at the Center for Conservation Biology, University of Washington are comparing stress, nutrition, and reproductive hormones in SRKW feces as well as developing more efficient methods to measure toxins and microbiome in those same samples. The results of these studies will yield key information about whether a lack of prey is the primary reason for the declining SRKW population, providing policy makers with important data to inform management actions.*
Partners
University of Washington Center for Conservation Biology