A new study found that killer whales, or orcas, swim all the way from Antarctica to New Zealand. The scientists consider their findings as "research gold," as it revealed the secrets of commuting among the antarctic animals.
A team of researchers from the University of Canterbury (UC) in New Zealand teamed up with Antarctic researchers from Italy to find out the impact of toothfish decline in the Ross Sea to Type-C killer whales, including their estimated number of populations and their patterns of feeding.
During the Antarctic summer of 2014-2015, a group of scientists led by Dr Regina Eisert from Gateway Antarctica, studied the killer whales as part of a research program in collaboration with NIWA, Landcare Research and Lincoln University.
Using a photo identification system, the group discovered that Scott Base is filled with Type-C orcas, which are thought to prefer fish prey, particularly Antarctic toothfish.
Ekaterina Ovsyanikova, a student at UC, also found that a female Type-C killer whale had been captured in film multiple times in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica and in New Zealand. Ovsyanikova was under the supervision of Eisert and Dr Ingrid Visser, a killer whale expert from the Orca Research Trust.
"This suggested that the killer whale had been commuting between Scott Base and Northland," said Eisert.
The Italian researchers, named Dr Giancarlo Lauriano from the Institute for Environmental Protection and Research and Dr Simone Panigada from the Tethys Research Institute, simultaneously conducted their investigations by installing satellite transmitters on the whales located in Terra Nova Bay, which is 360 kilometers north of Scott Base.
The purpose of the devices is to detect and monitor the movement of the killer whales.
The duo found that the killer whales swam north in the direction of New Zealand, confirming the investigation results of Ovsyanikova and Visser.
Killer whales swimming from Scott Base all the way to the northern part of New Zealand, instead of settling in one secluded place, suggests that a drastic change in the scientific knowledge of their ecosystems may apply.
The recent discovery may provide insight into the true ecological pattern of these predators, including the foreseeable crises that these species may encounter.
"The whales' long commute would also suggest that there is much greater ecological connectivity between Antarctica and New Zealand than previously thought," said Eisert.
Photo: Shawn McCready | Flickr
