Kinship and association in a highly social apex predator population, killer whales at Marion Island

Ryan R. Reisinger, Charlene Beukes, A. Rus Hoelzel and P.J. Nico de Bruyn

Behavioral Ecology, 2017, vol. 28, issue 3, 750-759

Abstract: Lay Summary Killer whales are considered highly social animals, however, social structure has been quantitatively studied in few populations. We show that killer whales at Marion Island (Southern Ocean) have small social modules which are mostly stable over years, but that these can be dynamic over shorter time periods. This may be a response to environmental conditions. The social modules comprise non-kin as well as kin, in contrast to the highly matrifocal structure in some other populations.

Keywords: delphinids; group; network; predators; relatedness; sociality; social structure; socio-ecology. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
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