Comparing The Diving Patterns Of Transient And Resident Killer Whales

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The two graphs shows the diving patterns of transient and resident killer whales within a three hour range after midnight. It also shows the depth of the ocean where the certain killer whale is traveling to. I believe that graph A represents resident killer whales and graph B represents transient killer whales. In graph A, the average bottom depth is from 75 to 125 meters, except for one spike at a shallow depth of around 35 meters. As for the diving pattern, the orca has 7 deep dives, reaching to the bottom of the sea, it spent the rest of its time at around 5 meters beneath the surface. The long dives happened in smaller intervals in the first hour, and only happened twice in the next two hours. There were also small dives reaching to …show more content…

For the diving depths of the killer whale, it has a uniform diving pattern. Most of the dives was around 50 meters, and they usually do not reach the bottom of the sea. Unlike those of graph A, each dive has almost the same depths, and the orca had a non-stop diving pattern. It reached 50 meters then immediately went back to few meters beneath surface, then few minutes later it started diving again. This pattern went on without any changes for the three hour period. The differences between the diving patterns of the resident and transient killer whales are due to their variations in their diet and hunting habits. Resident killer whales generally feed on fish in the near-shore region. They tend to forage for herring or salmon cooperatively in large social groups. Since they move in large groups, it is difficult for them to hunt for food in short intervals. Transient killer whales mainly feed on marine mammals such as sea lions, fur seals, or other whale calves. They have a larger body size and move in smaller groups. Since their preys are not bottom-dwellers, killer whales do not have to dive as deep to find food. Besides, traveling in smaller groups allow them to be more efficient in hunting, thus they can dive in shorter intervals without resting too much in

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