By Dr. Holly Fearnbach, Marine Mammal Research Director
SR3’s Dr. Holly Fearnbach and Dr. John Durban have been able to collect valuable winter data on the health of killer whales in the Salish Sea. This is the fifth year of winter monitoring and 17th year of the study for Southern Resident killer whales (SRKWs), and the 10th year of the study for Bigg’s transient killer whales. So far, the team has used a remotely-controlled octocopter drone to non-invasively collect aerial images of most members of J-pod from the endangered Southern Resident killer whale population and a small group of Bigg’s killer whales. These images provide important data on seasonal changes in body condition for both ecotypes of killer whales. The team will continue collecting comparative data on killer whale condition throughout the year to monitor changes in condition and help guide conservation measures to maintain adequate year-round prey availability. The team just kicked off their annual monitoring for the local “Sounder” gray whales during their feeding stopover in Puget Sound. More updates to come!
Image showing an adult male Bigg’s killer whale (T123A) surfacing with the Robert Banks Superport in the background (left); and aerial image of the T123 matriline (right). Aerial image was collected non-invasively using an octocopter drone flown at >100ft over the whales. Research conducted under Department of Fisheries and Oceans License MML-50.