Killer whale populations are invading the Arctic and causing major damage to ecosystems already severely affected by climate change A research team from McGill University has found a new clue to how killer whales affect their environment - rebuilding their diet by using lipids in their fat
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ANA š s Remili, a doctoral candidate in the Department of natural resources science at McGill University and the first author of the study, said: "by using this analysis, we will better understand how their diet changes and how they may damage the food web in the Arctic."
To reconstruct the whale diet, the researchers used a model called quantitative fatty acid profiling (qfasa), using samples from captive killer whales. They then measured the fatty acid composition of wild Greenland killer whales and potential prey species that whales might prey on. Finally, they used modeling methods to estimate that these whales mainly feed on harp seals and crown seals, and researchers found these species in the stomachs of some whales.
This new tool has the potential to increase understanding of killer whales' diets around the world and their possible impact on the Arctic food web in the future.