Seasonal fission and fusion of killer whale, Orcinus orca, social structure at sub-Antarctic Marion Island

• Published in: Animal Behaviour
• Main Authors: Jordaan, Rowan Keith, Reisinger, Ryan Rudolf, Oosthuizen, Wessel Christiaan, De Bruyn, P.J. Nico
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 2021
• Subjects: Association; Delphinid; Network; Prey abundance; Seasonality; Sociality; Marion Island; Killer whale (Orcinus orc); Antarctic; Indian; Southern Ocean; Antarc*; Killer Whale; Orca; Orcinus orca; Killer whale
• Online Access: https://repository.up.ac.za/handle/2263/85955; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2021.05.007

Variation in the distribution and abundance of food resources are key factors affecting animal sociality. In environments with variable resources, dynamic social organization, such as the fission and fusion of groups, is thought to increase the benefits of group living, while reducing the costs. We investigated the relationship between social organization and prey abundance in a highly social predator, the killer whale. This was achieved by analysing 12 years (2006–2018) of seasonally delineated (coinciding with high and low prey abundances) association data obtained from nearly 90 000 identification photographs of killer whales in-shore at Marion Island in the sub-Antarctic Indian Ocean. Association network measures were compared between periods using randomized association matrices. Half-weight association index, degree, number of modules and group size were all greater during periods of high prey abundance while mean distance, centrality and modularity were lower during this same period. Results suggest that killer whales at Marion Island were more social, formed larger groups and had more associations during periods of high prey abundance. During periods of lower prey abundance, fewer interactions, stronger clustering and more division in the association network were observed. These results indicate that the social organization of this population of killer whales is seasonally dynamic, with increased sociality measures coinciding with periods of higher prey abundance. These results are similar to those of other social species, emphasizing the importance of resource abundance as a driver of social structure in animal societies. The South African Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) provided funding through the National Research Foundation's SANAP and Thuthuka programmes. Additional funding through the International Whaling Commission Southern Ocean Research Partnership, the Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund and a FILAMO Mobility grant. http://www.elsevier.com/locate/anbehav hj2022 ...