The Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada has a requirement to conduct whole genome sequencing analysis for Arctic killer whale population substructure and trends. DFO’s planned killer whale research over the next three years has been developed largely in response to increasing concern about the impacts of killer whale predation, as well as formal requests for advice on potential management options from several Inuit communities. DFO needs to address knowledge gaps concerning ECA killer whale demography using genetics and photographic-identification studies to quantify Arctic killer whale abundance trends (e.g., how many are there, and are they increasing in number?) and characterize population structure (e.g., do killer whales observed in different areas belong to the same or different populations?). This research falls in line with DFO’s EAFM approach, providing data on killer whales to allow for incorporation of potential predator impacts on a number of prey management stocks (e.g., belugas in Cumberland Sound, where killer whales have a rapidly emerging presence in recent years).
The work will involve the following:
The overall objective of the contract is to use whole genome sequencing (WGS) analysis of killer whale samples collected from the Canadian Arctic. Specific objectives include:
- Genomics-based evaluation of population structure and potential presence of multiple Designatable Units for evaluation of conservation status.
- Genomics-based models of demographic history of killer whales in the Northwest Atlantic/Arctic.
- Genetic variation across environmental gradients as evidence of local adaptation to Arctic conditions (via whole-genome analysis);
