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Alaska Fisheries Science Center Metadata Librar... > National Marine Mammal Laboratory > Cetacean Assessment and Ecology Program >

AFSC/NMML: North Pacific Killer whale genetic dataset, 1990-2010

Data Set (DS) | Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AFSC)
GUID: gov.noaa.nmfs.inport:17341 | Updated: March 4, 2026 | Published / External

Short Citation:

Full Citation Examples

Alaska Fisheries Science Center, 2026: AFSC/NMML: North Pacific Killer whale genetic dataset, 1990-2010, https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/17341.

Title:	AFSC/NMML: North Pacific Killer whale genetic dataset, 1990-2010
Short Name:	AFSC/NMML: North Pacific Killer whale genetic dataset, 1990-2010
Status:	In Work
Abstract:	The difficulties associated with detecting population boundaries have long constrained the conservation and management of highly mobile marine species, especially for wide-ranging cetaceans such as killer whales (Orcinus orca). In this study, we use molecular genetic data to test a priori hypotheses about population subdivisions generated from a decade of killer whale surveys across the northern North Pacific. A total of 462 skin biopsies were collected from free-swimming killer whales from 1990 to 2010 between the northern Gulf of Alaska in the east and the Sea of Okhotsk in the west, representing both the piscivorous resident and the mammal-eating Biggs (or transient) killer whales. Geographic patterns of genetic differentiation were supported by significant regions of genetic discontinuity providing evidence of population structuring within both lineages, and corroborating direct observations of restricted movements of individual whales. In the Aleutian Islands (Alaska), population strata were largely delimited by major oceanographic boundaries for resident killer whales. In contrast, subdivisions among Biggs killer whales indicated multiple genetic clusters in the Eastern Aleutians and Bering Sea. The presence of sympatric genetic clusters within Biggs whales suggests the presence of isolating mechanisms other than geographic distance within this highly mobile top predator.
Purpose:	These data were collected to assess and quantify the population genetic structure of killer whales in the northern North Pacific between the Gulf of Alaska and the Russian Far East.
Notes:	Loaded by FGDC Metadata Uploader, batch 8487, 04-06-2016 13:42 The following FGDC sections are not currently supported in InPort, but were preserved and will be included in the FGDC export: - Taxonomy (FGDC:taxonomy)

Keywords

Theme Keywords

Theme Keywords
Thesaurus	Keyword
ISO 19115 Topic Category	biota
ISO 19115 Topic Category	oceans
UNCONTROLLED
None	biopsy locations
None	ecotype
None	genetics
None	haplotype
None	mtDNA control region
None	population genetic strata

Spatial Keywords

Spatial Keywords
Thesaurus	Keyword
UNCONTROLLED
None	Aleutian Islands
None	Bering Sea
None	Gulf of Alaska
None	northern North Pacific

Physical Location

Organization:	Alaska Fisheries Science Center
City:	Seattle
State/Province:	WA
Country:	USA

Data Set Information

Data Set Scope Code:	Data Set
Maintenance Frequency:	As Needed
Data Presentation Form:	Table (digital)
Distribution Liability:	The user is responsible for the results of any application of this data for other than its intended purpose. NOAA denies liability if the data are misused.
Data Set Credit:	Contributions to the dataset were also made by: Southwest Fisheries Science Center; North Gulf Oceanic Society; Far East Russia Orca project.

Support Roles

Data Steward

CC ID: 234517

Date Effective From:	2001
Date Effective To:
Contact (Person):	Parsons, Kim
Address:
Email Address:	kim.parsons@noaa.gov

Distributor

CC ID: 314643

Date Effective From:	2016
Date Effective To:
Contact (Organization):	NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI)
Address:
ROR:	https://ror.org/04r0wrp59
Email Address:	ncei.info@noaa.gov
URL:	NCEI Contact Information

Originator

CC ID: 314600

Date Effective From:	2016-04-06
Date Effective To:
Contact (Organization):	Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AFSC)
Address:	7600 Sand Point Way N.E., Building 4 Seattle, WA 98115 USA
ROR:	https://ror.org/01h7fye62
Email Address:	afsc.webmaster@noaa.gov
Phone:	(206) 526-4000
Fax:	(206) 526-4004
URL:	https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/about/alaska-fisheries-science-center
Business Hours:	0700-1700 Pacific Time

Point of Contact

CC ID: 314599

Date Effective From:	2016-04-06
Date Effective To:
Contact (Person):	Clapham, Phillip
Address:
Email Address:	phillip.clapham@noaa.gov

Extents

Currentness Reference:	Ground Condition

Extent Group 1

Extent Group 1 / Geographic Area 1

CC ID: 314597

W° Bound:	144
E° Bound:	-141
N° Bound:	65
S° Bound:	46
Description	North Pacific waters between the Gulf of Alaska and the Sea of Okhotsk.

Extent Group 1 / Time Frame 1

CC ID: 314596

Time Frame Type:	Range
Start:	1990
End:	2010

Access Information

Security Class:	Unclassified
Data Access Procedure:	Data is available at http://data.nodc.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/iso?id=gov.noaa.nodc:0142202.
Data Access Constraints:	There are no legal restrictions on access to the data. They reside in public domain and can be freely distributed.
Data Use Constraints:	User must read and fully comprehend the metadata prior to use. Applications or inferences derived from the data should be carefully considered for accuracy. Acknowledgement of NOAA/NMFS/AFSC, as the source from which these data were obtained in any publications and/or other representations of these, data is suggested.

Distribution Information

Distribution 1

CC ID: 314644

Download URL:	https://data.nodc.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/iso?id=gov.noaa.nodc:0142202
Distributor:

Technical Environment

Description:	Access

Data Quality

Completeness Report:	Not applicable.
Conceptual Consistency:	Not applicable.
Quality Control Procedures Employed:	Genotyping quality control measures included negative control reactions at each step including DNA extraction, PCR, and sequencing, as well as replicate genotyping of multiple samples. An overall genotyping replication rate of =11% of samples allowed us to empirically estimate the per allele genotyping error rate (Hoffman and Amos 2005; Morin et al. 2010). Furthermore, each PCR set included at least two samples previously genotyped to provide cross-plate controls and ensure consistent allele binning throughout the study.

Data Management

Have Resources for Management of these Data Been Identified?:	No
Approximate Percentage of Budget for these Data Devoted to Data Management:	0
Do these Data Comply with the Data Access Directive?:	Yes
Is Access to the Data Limited Based on an Approved Waiver?:	No
Approximate Delay Between Data Collection and Dissemination:	Unknown
If Delay is Longer than Latency of Automated Processing, Indicate Under What Authority Data Access is Delayed:	Unknown
Actual or Planned Long-Term Data Archive Location:	NCEI-MD
Approximate Delay Between Data Collection and Archiving:	Unknown
How Will the Data Be Protected from Accidental or Malicious Modification or Deletion Prior to Receipt by the Archive?:	IT Security and Contingency Plan for the system establishes procedures and applies to the functions, operations, and resources necessary to recover and restore data as hosted in the Western Regional Support Center in Seattle, Washington, following a disruption.

Lineage

Process Steps

Process Step 1

CC ID: 314602

Description:	NA

Child Items

Rubric scores updated every 15m

	Type	Title
	Entity	Killer whale genotypes
	Entity	MTDNA HAPLOTYPES

Type

Title

Entity

Killer whale genotypes