ACS Monterey Bay Program for May 2007
Killer Whales:
Their behavior and ecology in California waters
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Nancy Black, a scientist who has studied Killer Whales
(Orcas) in Monterey Bay and SE Alaska for twenty years, will bring her
breadth of knowledge and understanding of these fascinating animals to
her talk. Along with associates Richard Ternullo and Alisa Schulman-Janiger,
she has gathered information on seasonality of occurrence, abundance,
pod structure, contaminant levels, and prey preferences of the three eco-types
of Killer Whales known to occur. These are transients, offshores and southern
residents (from Puget Sound).
Nancy and her colleagues maintain the identification catalog of transient
Killer Whales and contribute to collaborative projects for whale research
throughout the Pacific. At the most recent Conference on the Biology of
Marine Mammals, she presented information on the predation behavior of
transient Killer Whales on gray whales in Monterey Bay. Nancy has spent
many hours in the company of Orcas in boats of various sizes and is extremely
familiar with these animals.
Nancy has been associated with this chapter of ACS in several ways. As
a student, she received ACS grants for research on Pacific white-sided
dolphins. The "Sightings" page in Soundings, frequent information on marine
life, and photographs often used in the newsletter, are contributions
from her web site (www.gowhales.com).
She received her master's degree from the Moss Landing Marine Laboratories
and now owns and operates Monterey Bay Whale Watch. Over the years her
company has introduced thousands of people to the marine environment and
its mammal inhabitants. She also has contributed and has been featured
in films by the National Geographic, BBC, and other international networks.
Related web pages:
- Back to list of previous meetings.
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Killer whale photo copyright ©
Nancy Black.Last updated June 9, 2007.