Resident killer whale-chinook salmon interactions

The resident killer whale-chinook salmon interactions workflow provides an environment to calculate a two-sex stage-structured matrix with no density dependence and with vital rates as random variables or as functions of Chinook abundance from specific stock aggregates and to (i) quantify the differences in demographic rates between killer whale (Orcinus orca) population that explain population growth; (ii) to determine the relative influence of vital rates and Chinook (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) abundance-vital rate interactions on expected population growth; (iii) to generate projections of population size at various time horizons.

This workflow perform the following analyses:

Vital rates estimation and probability distributions, Construction of Birth-flow Matrix Model, Eigen analysis, Elasticity analysis (deterministic and stochastic), Damping time• Stable stage distributions, IID projection matrices representing discrete time periods, Retrospective perturbation analysis, Stochastic population growth from IID matrices and vital rate probability distributions, Projections of population size, Regressions betwenn Killer WHale vital rates and stock-specific Chinook abundance, Elasticities of interactions between Killer Whale vital rates and stock-specific Chinook abundance.

This workflow comes in a package together with a tutorial, a second workflow and a group of inputs that belong two populations of killer whales. The inputs correspond to two distinct populations of resident killer whales (Orcinus orca) in the north-eastern Pacific Ocean. They have been listed in Canada and the U.S. as of conservation concern. The Southern Resident Killer Whale (SRKW) population is currently listed as endangered in both countries. The Northern Resident Killer Whale (NRKW) population has been listed as threatened in Canada.

To run this workflow in Taverna Workbench Biodiversity 2.5 requires an Rserve installation with the popbio, lattice, betareg, Formula and R.utils packages installed.

This workflow has been created by the Biodiversity Virtual e-Laboratory (BioVeL http://www.biovel.eu/) project and Fisheries and Oceans of Canada, BC, Canada. (http://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/index-eng.html). BioVeL is funded by the EU’s Seventh Framework Program, grant no. 283359.

Related publications

Vélez-Espino, L.A., John K.B. Ford, Eric Ward, Chuck K. Parken, Larrie LaVoy, Ken Balcomb, M. Bradley Hanson, Dawn. P. Noren, Graeme Ellis, Tom Cooney, and Rishi Sharma. 2013. Sensitivity of resident Killer Whale population dynamics to Chinook salmon abundance. Completion Report, Pacific Salmon Commission, Southern Boundary Restoration and Enhancement Fund, Vancouver BC. 191 p.

Vélez-Espino, L.A., Ford, J.K.B., Araujo, H.A., Ellis, G., Parken, C.K, & Balcomb, K. 2014. Comparative demography and viability of northeast Pacific resident killer whale populations at risk. Can. Tech. Rep. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 3084: vi + 56 p.

Vélez-Espino, L.A., John K.B. Ford, H. Andres Araujo, Graeme Ellis, Charles K. Parken and Rishi Sharma. 2014. Relative importance of Chinook salmon abundance on resident killer whale population growth and viability. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems. Article first published online: 21 AUG 2014. DOI: 10.1002/aqc.2494.