{"id":21067,"date":"2015-02-19T12:33:49","date_gmt":"2015-02-19T16:33:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/?p=21067"},"modified":"2021-11-10T16:41:30","modified_gmt":"2021-11-10T20:41:30","slug":"genetic-testing-helped-uncover-a-killer-whales-unusual-victim","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/genetic-testing-helped-uncover-a-killer-whales-unusual-victim.htm","title":{"rendered":"Genetic testing helped uncover a killer whale\u2019s unusual victim"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The NOAA Fisheries survey vessel plowed through the waves a few hundred miles off the California coast. With access to a suite of acoustic sensors, genetic testing equipment and oceanographic instruments, the researchers onboard were well-prepared to study any marine mammals they came across in their journey along the California Current.<\/p>\n<p>Off the ship\u2019s bow, an observer using powerful binoculars spotted a distant commotion in the water. Distinctive black fins flashed through the churning surf; a sure sign of a killer whale attack. By the time the research vessel made its way to the scene, only a bit of oil, blood and the victim\u2019s heart and lungs remained.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBy the time we got up there, whatever they were preying upon was mostly gone,\u201d said Brittany Hancock-Hanser, a research biologist at the Southwest Fisheries Science Center. \u201cThis was the first time I had seen that type of thing before.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Despite being a newcomer to nautical crime scenes, Hancock-Hanser knew that the scant remains would be more than enough to use in a genetic analysis that could determine the victim\u2019s identity. So she scooped up the leftover organs and prepared them for testing back in the lab.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis sample, luckily, was fairly fresh,\u201d she said. \u201cIf we have samples that aren\u2019t very fresh, that haven\u2019t been preserved, then yeah, we do have complications.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_21059\" style=\"width: 610px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-21059\" class=\"wp-image-21059 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/killer_whale_attack.jpg\" alt=\"genetic testing Killer whales swim past an unusual attack on another whale. (Credit: Paula Olson \/ NOAA Fisheries)\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/killer_whale_attack.jpg 600w, https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/killer_whale_attack-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-21059\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Killer whales swim past an unusual attack on another whale. (Credit: Paula Olson \/ NOAA Fisheries)<\/p><\/div>\n<p>In the lab, researchers cut tiny pieces of tissue from the heart and lungs. They processed the tissue with enzymes to open its cells, then cleaned it with an alcohol wash. A computer system targeted a fragment of DNA common to cetaceans, then made copies, narrowing the targeted fragment with each copy. In just over a week, the team discovered the victim\u2019s identity.<\/p>\n<p>But why even bother studying what a few whales had for lunch? Hancock-Hanser said this sort of research helps reveal inconsistencies in the whales\u2019 diets. In this case, their meal turned out to be a pygmy sperm whale, a small cetacean that\u2019s hard to come by \u2014 and definitely not standard fare for killer whales.<\/p>\n<p>Pygmy sperm whales are deep divers, so they\u2019re not often encountered by researchers on mammal surveys. Furthermore, they don\u2019t make much contact with killer whales. Hancock-Hanser said that the results of this genetic testing could mark the first published interaction between killer and pygmy sperm whales in the Pacific.<\/p>\n<p>The marine mammal surveys that NOAA conducts rely heavily on photo identification, behavioral observation and a keen eye \u2014 all factors limited by reaction time and chance. But the genetic sleuthing of Hancock-Hanser and her colleagues gives researchers a means of making up for missed opportunities.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere aren\u2019t very many instances of [encountering feeding events],\u201d she said. \u201cThe good news is, genetics can tell us what they\u2019ve been preying on, even though we weren\u2019t able to observe the actual animal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"color: #808080;\">Top image:\u00a0Albatrosses compete for scraps of the killed whale. (Credit: Paula Olson \/ NOAA Fisheries)<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A NOAA Fisheries marine mammal survey turned to genetic sleuthing to identify the unusual victim of a killer whale attack<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":21068,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,44],"tags":[118,13,120,60,347,295],"class_list":["post-21067","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured-articles","category-oceans-coasts","tag-aquatic-species","tag-biology","tag-edna","tag-featured","tag-oceans-coasts","tag-whale"],"remote_post_permalink":false,"remote_post_featured_image":false,"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Genetic testing helped uncover a killer whale\u2019s unusual victim<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A NOAA Fisheries marine mammal survey turned to genetic testing to identify the unusual victim of a killer whale attack. 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