. Cetaceans of the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary. Cetacea; Mammals. Killer Whale us orca (Linnaeus. 1758 Killer whales have been observed in all areas and oceans. The prevalent understanding ot their distribution, often recounted, is that while they may be encountered virtually anywhere in marine waters world wide they are most abundant in colder waters of both hemi- spheres, with centers of greatest abundance within about 800km ot continents. In some areas they appear to be migratory while in others they are apparently present year-round. The general patterns ot dis- tribution and
. Cetaceans of the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary. Cetacea; Mammals. Killer Whale us orca (Linnaeus. 1758 Killer whales have been observed in all areas and oceans. The prevalent understanding ot their distribution, often recounted, is that while they may be encountered virtually anywhere in marine waters world wide they are most abundant in colder waters of both hemi- spheres, with centers of greatest abundance within about 800km ot continents. In some areas they appear to be migratory while in others they are apparently present year-round. The general patterns ot dis- tribution and movement worldwide have often been described. But for most regions there are few published details on the distribution, abundance, seasonal movement patterns and habitat use. The eastern North Pacitlc is the exception to that rule. Here, killer whales are known from the Chukchi Sea south to the equator with no major hiatuses in distribution apparent. Reviews of literature and analyses of results ot ma)or observation programs have characterized relative abundance by major oceanic 'eastern tropical Pacihc i and coastal (Alaska) regions. Further, the dynamics of "populations" in areas from northern Washington to southern Alaska are under study and reasonably well known. These detailed population studies have been based largely on monitoring ot tagged individuals using high quality black and white photographs ot the dorsal tin and post- dorsal-fin saddle and on examination of acoustic recordings for evi- dence of dialects. Such studies, begun in inland marine waters of Washington and British Columbia in the early igyos, have recently been conducted in Southeast Alaska and southern Alaska and are being extended with less intensity to waters south of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Washington, along the west coast of North America. From the above studies, the current dogma is that some pods and populations of killer whales are "resident", occurring all or
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookcoll, booksubjectcetacea, booksubjectmammals
