The Foe You Know: Observations of Interspecific Interactions Between Small Cetaceans and Northern Resident Killer Whales ( <scp> <i>Orcinus orca</i> </scp> ) in the Northeast Pacific
Bibliographic record
Abstract
ABSTRACT We documented the first aerial observations of interspecific interactions of fish‐eating, northern resident killer whales ( Orcinus orca ) with two small cetacean species, Dall's porpoises ( Phocoenoides dalli ) and Pacific white‐sided dolphins ( Lagenorhynchus obliquidens ), off northeastern Vancouver Island, BC, Canada. Specifically, we used drone‐collected data to compare observations of porpoises and dolphins interacting with northern resident killer whales to understand factors which may promote interspecific interactions. From 2018 to 2021, 42 interactions were opportunistically recorded of Dall's porpoises (19%), Pacific white‐sided dolphins (74%), and both species (7%) approaching groups of traveling, milling, socializing, and resting northern resident killer whales. The mean group size of killer whales during interactions with dolphins (an average of 8 killer whales) and porpoises (an average of 3 killer whales) was significantly different. Porpoises interacted only with small groups ( n ≤ 5) of killer whales, while dolphins interacted with larger groups ( n ≥ 25). This suggests that the likelihood of interaction by each species is influenced by killer whale group size. However, the age and sex composition of killer whale groups, as well as the number of small cetaceans present, were found to have no significant effect on interaction patterns. Additionally, we never observed killer whales initiating interactions. We discuss several adaptive benefits, including antipredator, foraging, hydrodynamic, and social advantages, to dolphins and porpoises that may drive the observed interactions. The benefits of interactions appeared to be predominantly antipredator‐focused and species‐specific, with both species possibly also benefiting from increased hydrodynamic efficiency while swimming. While opportunistic, our observations provide detailed accounts of non‐predatory interactions between small cetacean species and northern resident killer whales. Future studies focusing on the drivers of mixed‐species group formation in the North Pacific are needed, and we suggest that these utilize drones as a platform for data collection.
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How this classification was reachedexpand
Full frame machine prediction
Teacher imitationNot calibrated prevalence, not ground truth. Human validation pending. The Gemma side is a direct model label for every work in the frame, read from the title-only record. The Codex side is a classifier learned from the 10,348 direct Codex labels and calibrated to design-weighted sample rates; fields without enough sample support carry no Codex call. Candidate is the union of the two sides; consensus is their intersection. These outputs are machine_predicted_unvalidated and are not human labels.
Distilled classifier scores by category (both heads)
| Category | Codex | Gemma |
|---|---|---|
| Metaresearch | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Meta-epidemiology (narrow) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Meta-epidemiology (broad) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Bibliometrics | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Science and technology studies | 0.001 | 0.000 |
| Scholarly communication | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Open science | 0.000 | 0.001 |
| Research integrity | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Insufficient payload (model declined to judge) | 0.001 | 0.000 |
Machine scores (provisional)
The two teacher heads of the student model, read on this work. A score orders the frame for review; it never asserts a category, and the validation status ships verbatim with every row.
Baseline scores from an immature model (maturity gate not passed, 7 training rounds). Scores rank; they never assert a category.
score_only:v0-immature-baseline · verbatim from the scoring run: score_only means the number may rank works, and no category label ships from itClassification
machine, unvalidatedMachine predicted; a candidate call from one source (direct Gemma or distilled Codex), not a consensus.
How this classification was reached, model by model and score by score, is at the end of the page under "How this classification was reached".