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Morin PA, McCarthy ML, Fung CW, Durban JW, Parsons KM, Perrin WF, Taylor BL, Jefferson TA, Archer FI. Revised taxonomy of eastern North Pacific killer whales ( Orcinus orca): Bigg's and resident ecotypes deserve species status. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2024; 11:231368. [PMID: 38545612 PMCID: PMC10966402 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.231368] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2023] [Revised: 01/29/2024] [Accepted: 02/10/2024] [Indexed: 04/26/2024]
Abstract
Killer whales (Orcinus orca) are currently recognized as a single ecologically and morphologically diverse, globally distributed species. Multiple morphotypes or ecotypes have been described, often associated with feeding specialization, and several studies have suggested taxonomic revision to include multiple subspecies or species in the genus. We review the ecological, morphological and genetic data for the well-studied 'resident' and Bigg's (aka 'transient') ecotypes in the eastern North Pacific and use quantitative taxonomic guidelines and standards to determine whether the taxonomic status of these killer whale ecotypes should be revised. Our review and new analyses indicate that species-level status is justified in both cases, and we conclude that eastern North Pacific Bigg's killer whales should be recognized as Orcinus rectipinnus (Cope in Scammon, 1869) and resident killer whales should be recognized as Orcinus ater (Cope in Scammon, 1869).
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Affiliation(s)
- Phillip A. Morin
- Southwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, La Jolla, CA92037, USA
| | - Morgan L. McCarthy
- Southwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, La Jolla, CA92037, USA
| | - Charissa W. Fung
- University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British ColumbiaV6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - John W. Durban
- Marine Mammal Institute, Oregon State University, Newport, OR97365, USA
| | - Kim M. Parsons
- Northwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, Seattle, WA98112, USA
| | - William F. Perrin
- Southwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, La Jolla, CA92037, USA
| | - Barbara L. Taylor
- Southwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, La Jolla, CA92037, USA
| | - Thomas A. Jefferson
- Southwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, La Jolla, CA92037, USA
| | - Frederick I. Archer
- Southwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, La Jolla, CA92037, USA
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Dynamics of short-finned pilot whales long-term social structure in Madeira. Mamm Biol 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s42991-022-00280-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/14/2022]
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Sankey DWE, Hunt KL, Croft DP, Franks DW, Green PA, Thompson FJ, Johnstone RA, Cant MA. Leaders of war: modelling the evolution of conflict among heterogeneous groups. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2022; 377:20210140. [PMID: 35369752 PMCID: PMC8977670 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2021.0140] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2021] [Accepted: 12/20/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
War, in human and animal societies, can be extremely costly but can also offer significant benefits to the victorious group. We might expect groups to go into battle when the potential benefits of victory (V) outweigh the costs of escalated conflict (C); however, V and C are unlikely to be distributed evenly in heterogeneous groups. For example, some leaders who make the decision to go to war may monopolize the benefits at little cost to themselves ('exploitative' leaders). By contrast, other leaders may willingly pay increased costs, above and beyond their share of V ('heroic' leaders). We investigated conflict initiation and conflict participation in an ecological model where single-leader-multiple-follower groups came into conflict over natural resources. We found that small group size, low migration rate and frequent interaction between groups increased intergroup competition and the evolution of 'exploitative' leadership, while converse patterns favoured increased intragroup competition and the emergence of 'heroic' leaders. We also found evidence of an alternative leader/follower 'shared effort' outcome. Parameters that favoured high contributing 'heroic' leaders, and low contributing followers, facilitated transitions to more peaceful outcomes. We outline and discuss the key testable predictions of our model for empiricists studying intergroup conflict in humans and animals. This article is part of the theme issue 'Intergroup conflict across taxa'.
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Affiliation(s)
- D. W. E. Sankey
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Cornwall TR10 9FE, UK
| | - K. L. Hunt
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Cornwall TR10 9FE, UK
| | - D. P. Croft
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QG, UK
| | - D. W. Franks
- Department of Biology and Department of Computer Science, University of York, York YO10 5DD, UK
| | - P. A. Green
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Cornwall TR10 9FE, UK
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
| | - F. J. Thompson
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Cornwall TR10 9FE, UK
| | - R. A. Johnstone
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK
| | - M. A. Cant
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Cornwall TR10 9FE, UK
- German Primate Centre, University of Göttingen, Göttingen 37077, Germany
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Assessing social structure: a data-driven approach to define associations between individuals. Mamm Biol 2022; 102:551-566. [PMID: 36721404 PMCID: PMC9883313 DOI: 10.1007/s42991-022-00231-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2021] [Accepted: 01/16/2022] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Our interpretation of animal social structures is inherently dependent on our ability to define association criteria that are biologically meaningful. However, association thresholds are often based upon generalized preconceptions of a species' social behaviour, and the impact of using these arbitrary definitions has been largely overlooked. In this study we suggest a probability-based method for defining association thresholds using lagged identification rates on photographic records of identifiable individuals. This technique uses a simple model of emigration/immigration from photographable clusters to identify the time-dependent lag value between identifications of two individuals that corresponds to approximately 75% probability of being in close spatial proximity and likely associating. This lag value is then used as the threshold to define associations for social analyses. We applied the technique to a dataset of northern resident killer whales (Orcinus orca) in the Northeast Pacific and tested its performance against two arbitrary thresholds. The probabilistic association maximized the variation in association strengths at different levels of the social structure, in line with known social patterns in this population. Furthermore, variability in inferred social structure metrics generated by different association criteria highlighted the consequential effect of choosing arbitrary thresholds. Data-driven association thresholds are a promising approach to study populations without the need to subjectively define associations in the field, especially in societies with prominent fission-fusion dynamics. This method is applicable to any dataset of sequential identifications where it can be assumed that associated individuals will tend to be identified in close proximity. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s42991-022-00231-9.
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Abstract
[Figure: see text].
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