Cetacean Research at the Vancouver Aquarium

The Vancouver Aquarium has a long tradition of research on cetaceans (dolphins, porpoises and whales). Our busy Cetacean Research Lab is situated in the Levy Marine Mammal Research Centre. Personnel include our Marine Mammal Research Scientist Dr. Lance Barrett-Lennard; Marine Mammal Research Administrator and Coordinator Meghan McKillop; Research Assistants Doug Sandilands, Alana Phillips and Caitlin Birdsall; and graduate students Valeria Vergara, and Cara Lachmuth. Most of our research is highly collaborative, and Vancouver Aquarium Research Associates such as Dr. Volker Deecke and Dr. Harald Yurk frequently visit the lab, as do cetacean researchers from a variety of universities and government departments. The Lab recently started a visiting scientist program for established marine mammal researchers on leave from their home institutions.  We are presently hosting noted killer whale researcher Dr. Olga Filatova, of Moscow State University in Russia. Some of the Cetacean Research Laboratory's projects are described below.

Long-term monitoring of Killer Whale Populations in British Columbia

The world's longest continuous study of killer whales-and one of the longest on any animal species-has been underway in British Columbia for over 30 years. The project is a unique cooperative effort of marine biologists from the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans, the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre, the University of British Columbia, the Centre for Whale Research, OrcaLab, and a host of other institutions. At least 18 graduate students have earned Masters or PhD degrees based on their involvement. Photo-identification is at the core of the project and makes it possible to track the lives of all of the more than 500 killer whales living along the British Columbian coast. Other important techniques used include acoustic analysis of calls, and analysis of DNA from minute skin samples. The Vancouver Aquarium has been a central player in the research since the early 1970's.

North Pacific Killer Whale Project

In the mid-1980's, killer whale scientists in British Columbia used the knowledge they had acquired to help Alaskan biologist Craig Matkin start a long-term research project in the northern Gulf of Alaska. Matkin and his colleagues formed the North Gulf Oceanic Society, which until recently has focused on killer whale populations in and around Prince William Sound, near Anchorage. In 2002, Matkin and Dr. Barrett-Lennard expanded the scope of the project to include killer whales along the Alaskan Peninsula as far as the Aleutian Islands. In the course of this work, Barrett-Lennard and Matkin discovered a population of over 100 transient killer whales near False Pass, Alaska. For more information click here. As in British Columbia, the primary research methods are photo-identification, analysis of calls, and DNA analysis.

Killer Whale Mating Patterns, Social Systems and Population Structure based on DNA Analysis

Since the early 1990's, the Vancouver Aquarium has been involved in a ground breaking study of killer whale societies based on DNA analysis. The project is focused on tracing relationships, and asks questions such as: Are members of the

fish—eating resident and marine mammal—eating transient killer whale assemblages genetically isolated? How do resident killer whales—which spend their entire lives in their birth pods—avoid inbreeding? Do killer whales mate for life? Did killer whale pods with similar calls learn them from common ancestors? Do members of the southern BC, northern BC, and southern Alaskan resident communities interbreed?

BC Wild Killer Whale Adoption Program

The Vancouver Aquarium raises funds to support its active program of killer whale research. Learn more about how you can help, and for comprehensive and intriguing information about British Columbia's killer whale populations.

History of Cetacean Research at the VAMSC

The Vancouver Aquarium has a long and colourful history of involvement in whale research. Read a fascinating insight into how and why we got started in this field.

BC Cetacean Sightings Network

In 2002, a new project began at the Aquarium to help acquire important conservation information about BC's whales: their abundance and distribution throughout the year, the habitats they use and the threats they face. The project is run jointly with Fisheries and Oceans Canada using funding provided by Environment Canada's Habitat Stewardship Program. For more information, visit the BC Cetacean Sightings Network.