27 February 2025: New study reveals connections between North Atlantic killer whales populations

A recent study by Baumgartner and colleagues, titled “Kinship clustering within an ecologically diverse killer whale metapopulation”, was published in Heredity in January 2025. This study examines how the food killer whales eat and where they find it influence the way their groups are structured. It also looks at how these factors affect the transfer of genes between different whale populations.

By analysing the DNA of 204 killer whales, the study found that fish-eating and mixed-diet whales still belong to the same overall population, but some groups are more separated than others. By looking at the DNA of killer whales, scientists can also learn about their ancestors. In this study, the DNA passed down from mothers (mitochondrial DNA) shows that females tend to remain within their family groups and usual home areas, meaning they do not move between different populations. In contrast, DNA inherited from both parents (nuclear DNA) reveals that males travel between groups to mate, helping to mix genetic material across populations.

The research highlights how the collapse of North Atlantic herring stocks in the 1960s may have contributed to less movement and connection between killer whale populations. These findings emphasise the need for international management strategies to protect this wide-ranging species and its prey.

Read the full article here: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41437-024-00740-y

Photo credit: Fernando Ugarte