By using our site, you agree to our collection of information through the use of cookies. To learn more, view our Privacy Policy. To browse Academia. Movements of vessels and killer whales Orcinus orca were monitored during summer daylight hours from July to September to determine whether vessels affected killer whales in the Robson Bight -Michael Bigg Ecological Reserve, British Columbia.
Killer whales were seen in all parts of the Reserve, but spent significantly more time near the rubbing beaches than anywhere else. Vessels, primarily commercial fishing vessels, were observed entering the Reserve over 12, times during the 4-year study. They did not appear to have marked effects on the numbers of whales in the Reserve. However, vessels did appear to affect the movements of the whales in this near-shore habitat.
Whales were more likely to move to another area of the Reserve or to leave the Reserve entirely when vessels were present than when they were absent, and were more sensitive to vessels near the rubbing beaches than anywhere else in the Reserve.
Our findings suggest that boats can displace whales from areas that might be designated as critical habitat. However, the possible long-term consequences of such shortterm effects are not known and require further study. Vessel traffic may have contributed to southern resident killer whales Orcinus orca becoming endangered.
To determine the importance of this threat, we measured the behavior of southern residents in the presence and absence of vessels from to at 2 different sites along San Juan Island, Washington, USA. We observed activity states of killer whale schools using scan sampling and collected information on the number of vessels present at various distances from those.
