Increasing presence of Bigg’s killer whales and changing seasonality of Southern Resident killer whales in Washington waters (opens in new tab)

Two ecotypes of killer whales (Orcinus orca) occur in the Washington waters of the Salish Sea: endangered, fish-eating Southern Resident killer whales (SRKW), made up of three family groups J-, K-, and L-pods, and marine-mammal-eating Bigg’s killer whales. Although these ecotypes overlap in space, they respond to different ecological processes, face different threats, and have different management priorities. Understanding how their habitat use has changed over time can give us insight into c...