Killer whale call detection rates vary among subspecies and populations in the North Pacific.

Killer whales (Orcinus orca) in the North Pacific have diverged into subspecies with distinct diets, social structures, and vocal behaviors. Understanding the rate at which killer whales of different subspecies vocalize provides insight into their communication with conspecifics as well as the environmental factors shaping vocalization patterns. Estimating a population's calling rate can also enable the number of animals present to be estimated acoustically.

Passive acoustic monitoring of killer whales (Orcinus orca) reveals year-round distribution and residency patterns in the Gulf of Alaska.

Killer whales (Orcinus orca) are top predators throughout the world's oceans. In the North Pacific, the species is divided into three ecotypes-resident (fish-eating), transient (mammal-eating), and offshore (largely shark-eating)-that are genetically and acoustically distinct and have unique roles in the marine ecosystem. In this study, we examined the year-round distribution of killer whales in the northern Gulf of Alaska from 2016 to 2020 using passive acoustic monitoring.