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Killer whale range expansion and extended seasonal presence in the eastern Canadian Arctic, 2002-2023

PURPOSE:

The focus of this research is on changes in the distribution of killer whales in the Canadian Arctic, which is within the field of marine biogeography and marine megafauna. Our research details change in killer whale presence and ties it to changes in sea ice coverage. These are novel results, presenting trends in the arrival and departure dates of killer whales into the eastern Canadian Arctic for the first time. We go on to discuss the impacts of these changes on other aspects of Arctic ecosystems and how increasing in killer whale presence might affect other species and the management of those species in Canada. Killer whales are a widespread species of interest, especially in the Canadian Arctic as their presence is tied to multiple aspects of a region rapidly changing from the effects of climate change.

DESCRIPTION:

This study examines 20 years of killer whale (Orcinus orca) sightings in the eastern Canadian Arctic, drawing from a comprehensive sighting database spanning 1850-2023. Despite inherent biases favoring data collection near communities and coastal areas, spatiotemporal analyses reveal significant shifts in killer whale distribution linked to changing sea ice conditions. We developed a clustering metric representing the mean distance to the five nearest sightings and results show that killer whales are progressively moving away from historically high-use areas and that sighting locations are becoming more dispersed over time. A significant year × sea ice interaction indicates observations occur earlier during their arrival period at lower sea ice concentrations over time, suggesting that declining sea ice

concentration contributes to earlier arrival. Conversely, for departure periods, killer whales are observed farther south later in the year, likely linked to earlier freeze-up at higher latitudes, and are overall observed later into the year over time. This trend has led to a near doubling of their average presence from 26 days in 2002 to 48 days in 2023 (27 July to 13 September) reflecting an extended open-water season. These findings underscore the prolonged seasonal use of Arctic regions by killer whales, driven by diminishing sea ice and expanding openwater habitat. Such shifts highlight potential implications for Arctic marine ecosystems as killer whales increasingly overlap with endemic species.

Simple

Date ( RI_366 )
2002
Date ( RI_367 )
2025-05-15
RI_412
  Government of Canada; Fisheries and Oceans Canada - AARD Data Request DRAA Demande de donnés (DFO/MPO)
501 University Cres , Winnipeg , Manitoba , R3T 2N6 , Canada
Purpose
The focus of this research is on changes in the distribution of killer whales in the Canadian Arctic, which is within the field of marine biogeography and marine megafauna. Our research details change in killer whale presence and ties it to changes in sea ice coverage. These are novel results, presenting trends in the arrival and departure dates of killer whales into the eastern Canadian Arctic for the first time. We go on to discuss the impacts of these changes on other aspects of Arctic ecosystems and how increasing in killer whale presence might affect other species and the management of those species in Canada. Killer whales are a widespread species of interest, especially in the Canadian Arctic as their presence is tied to multiple aspects of a region rapidly changing from the effects of climate change.
Status
completed; complété RI_593
Maintenance and update frequency
notPlanned; nonPlanifié RI_542
DFO Areas Zones du MPO ( RI_525 )
  • Baffin Bay
  • Davis Strait
  • Hudson Bay and James Bay
Government of Canada Core Subject Thesaurus Thésaurus des sujets de base du gouvernement du Canada ( RI_528 )
  • Oceans
  • Whales
Use limitation
Open Government Licence - Canada (http://open.canada.ca/en/open-government-licence-canada)
Access constraints
license; licence RI_606
Use constraints
license; licence RI_606
Use limitation
None
Classification
unclassified; nonClassifié RI_484
Spatial representation type
textTable; texteTable RI_637
Metadata language
eng; CAN
Character set
utf8; utf8 RI_458
Topic category
  • Biota
  • Oceans
Begin date
2002
End date
2023
Description
Eastern Canadian Arctic
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S
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W
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Reference system identifier
http://www.epsg-registry.org / EPSG:4326
Distribution format
  • CSV ( n/a )

  • PDF ( n/a )

RI_414
  Government of Canada; Fisheries and Oceans Canada - AARD Data Request DRAA Demande de donnés (DFO/MPO)
501 University Cres , Winnipeg , Manitoba , R3T 2N6 , Canada
OnLine resource
Data_Dictionary_Dictionnaire_de_données.pdf ( HTTPS )

Supporting Document;PDF;eng,fra

OnLine resource
Killer whale sighting data 2002-2023.csv ( HTTPS )

Dataset;CSV;eng,fra

OnLine resource
Supplementary_Citation_List_Liste_de_citation_supplémentaire.pdf ( HTTPS )

Supporting Document;PDF;eng,fra

OnLine resource
open_data_donnees_ouvertes/killer_whale_range_presence_eastern_canada_arctic_2002_2023 ( ESRI REST: Map Service )

Web Service;ESRI REST;eng

OnLine resource
open_data_donnees_ouvertes/killer_whale_range_presence_eastern_canada_arctic_2002_2023 ( ESRI REST: Map Service )

Web Service;ESRI REST;fra

File identifier
b43be740-1496-11f0-9b16-cdaf3d076dbf XML
Metadata language
eng; CAN
Character set
utf8; utf8 RI_458
Hierarchy level
dataset; jeuDonnées RI_622
Date stamp
2025-07-31T16:24:58.757Z
Metadata standard name
North American Profile of ISO 19115:2003 - Geographic information - Metadata
Metadata standard version
CAN/CGSB-171.100-2009
RI_414
  Government of Canada; Fisheries and Oceans Canada - Steve Ferguson ( Research Scientist )
501 University Cres , Winnipeg , Manitoba , R3T 2N6 , Canada
204-229-3109
 
 

Overviews

overview
Killer whale range expansion and extended seasonal presence in the eastern Canadian Arctic, 2002-2023.jpg

Spatial extent

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S
E
W
thumbnail


Keywords


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Associated resources

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