A Dwarf Form of Killer Whale in Antarctica
In the early 1980s, 2 groups of Soviet scientists independently described 1, possibly 2 new dwarf species of killer whales (Orcinus) from Antarctica. We used aerial photogrammetry to determine total length (TL) of 221 individual Type C killer whales—a fish-eating ecotype that inhabits dense pack ice...
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2007
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ftunivnebraskali:oai:digitalcommons.unl.edu:usdeptcommercepub-1505 2023-11-12T04:06:42+01:00 A Dwarf Form of Killer Whale in Antarctica Pitman, Robert L. Perryman, Wayne L. LeRoi, Don Eilers, Erik 2007-01-01T08:00:00Z application/pdf https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/usdeptcommercepub/506 https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/context/usdeptcommercepub/article/1505/viewcontent/Pitman_JM_2007_A_DWARF_FORM_OF_KILLER_WHALE.pdf unknown DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/usdeptcommercepub/506 https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/context/usdeptcommercepub/article/1505/viewcontent/Pitman_JM_2007_A_DWARF_FORM_OF_KILLER_WHALE.pdf Publications, Agencies and Staff of the U.S. Department of Commerce aerial photogrammetry Antarctica Cetacea dwarf form killer whale morphometrics Orcinus orca text 2007 ftunivnebraskali 2023-10-30T09:49:58Z In the early 1980s, 2 groups of Soviet scientists independently described 1, possibly 2 new dwarf species of killer whales (Orcinus) from Antarctica. We used aerial photogrammetry to determine total length (TL) of 221 individual Type C killer whales—a fish-eating ecotype that inhabits dense pack ice—in the southern Ross Sea in January 2005. We confirmed it as one of the smallest killer whales known: TL of adult females (with calves) averaged 5.2 m ± 0.23 SD (n = 33); adult males averaged 5.6 ± 0.32 m (n = 65), with the largest measuring 6.1 m. Female Type A killer whales—offshore mammal-eaters—from Soviet whaling data in the Southern Ocean were approximately 1–2 m longer, and males were 2–3 m (up to 50%) longer (maximum length 9.2 m). Killer whale communities from the North Atlantic and in waters around Japan also appear to support both a smaller, inshore, fish-eating form and a larger, offshore, mammal-eating form. We suggest that, at least in Antarctica, this degree of size dimorphism could result in reproductive isolation between sympatric ecotypes, which is consistent with hypotheses of multiple species of killer whales in the Southern Ocean. Text Antarc* Antarctica Killer Whale North Atlantic Orca Orcinus orca Ross Sea Southern Ocean Killer whale University of Nebraska-Lincoln: DigitalCommons@UNL Southern Ocean Ross Sea |
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Open Polar |
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University of Nebraska-Lincoln: DigitalCommons@UNL |
op_collection_id |
ftunivnebraskali |
language |
unknown |
topic |
aerial photogrammetry Antarctica Cetacea dwarf form killer whale morphometrics Orcinus orca |
spellingShingle |
aerial photogrammetry Antarctica Cetacea dwarf form killer whale morphometrics Orcinus orca Pitman, Robert L. Perryman, Wayne L. LeRoi, Don Eilers, Erik A Dwarf Form of Killer Whale in Antarctica |
topic_facet |
aerial photogrammetry Antarctica Cetacea dwarf form killer whale morphometrics Orcinus orca |
description |
In the early 1980s, 2 groups of Soviet scientists independently described 1, possibly 2 new dwarf species of killer whales (Orcinus) from Antarctica. We used aerial photogrammetry to determine total length (TL) of 221 individual Type C killer whales—a fish-eating ecotype that inhabits dense pack ice—in the southern Ross Sea in January 2005. We confirmed it as one of the smallest killer whales known: TL of adult females (with calves) averaged 5.2 m ± 0.23 SD (n = 33); adult males averaged 5.6 ± 0.32 m (n = 65), with the largest measuring 6.1 m. Female Type A killer whales—offshore mammal-eaters—from Soviet whaling data in the Southern Ocean were approximately 1–2 m longer, and males were 2–3 m (up to 50%) longer (maximum length 9.2 m). Killer whale communities from the North Atlantic and in waters around Japan also appear to support both a smaller, inshore, fish-eating form and a larger, offshore, mammal-eating form. We suggest that, at least in Antarctica, this degree of size dimorphism could result in reproductive isolation between sympatric ecotypes, which is consistent with hypotheses of multiple species of killer whales in the Southern Ocean. |
format |
Text |
author |
Pitman, Robert L. Perryman, Wayne L. LeRoi, Don Eilers, Erik |
author_facet |
Pitman, Robert L. Perryman, Wayne L. LeRoi, Don Eilers, Erik |
author_sort |
Pitman, Robert L. |
title |
A Dwarf Form of Killer Whale in Antarctica |
title_short |
A Dwarf Form of Killer Whale in Antarctica |
title_full |
A Dwarf Form of Killer Whale in Antarctica |
title_fullStr |
A Dwarf Form of Killer Whale in Antarctica |
title_full_unstemmed |
A Dwarf Form of Killer Whale in Antarctica |
title_sort |
dwarf form of killer whale in antarctica |
publisher |
DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln |
publishDate |
2007 |
url |
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/usdeptcommercepub/506 https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/context/usdeptcommercepub/article/1505/viewcontent/Pitman_JM_2007_A_DWARF_FORM_OF_KILLER_WHALE.pdf |
geographic |
Southern Ocean Ross Sea |
geographic_facet |
Southern Ocean Ross Sea |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctica Killer Whale North Atlantic Orca Orcinus orca Ross Sea Southern Ocean Killer whale |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctica Killer Whale North Atlantic Orca Orcinus orca Ross Sea Southern Ocean Killer whale |
op_source |
Publications, Agencies and Staff of the U.S. Department of Commerce |
op_relation |
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/usdeptcommercepub/506 https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/context/usdeptcommercepub/article/1505/viewcontent/Pitman_JM_2007_A_DWARF_FORM_OF_KILLER_WHALE.pdf |
_version_ |
1782327716912037888 |