Decoding Mexico’s orca ecotypes
There is much still to be learnt about orcas in the Gulf of California. And since 2018, the Orcas Mexico project has been observing flexible and specialised feeding strategies, movement across the Eastern Tropical Pacific and patterns that suggest connectivity between the Gulf and populations in the Pacific. Jesus wants to determine if there is a previously undescribed orca ecotype in the Gulf of California. He’ll be analysing skin and blubber biopsies to understand their diet and reviewing acoustic and photo-identification data to decode their communication, gaining glimpses into their kinship and social structure. His project will help to inform effective conservation and management strategies.
Jesus Erick Higuera Rivas
As a marine biologist and wildlife cinematographer, I specialise in documenting the natural history of marine life, connecting scientific research with filmmaking. In collaboration with scientists, NGOs and fishermen, my current work focuses on orcas and giant mantas off Mexico’s Pacific coast.
Decoding Mexico’s killer whales ecotype
The aim of this project is to understand if there is an undescribed orca ecotype in the Gulf of California.
Revealing the orcas’ diet and their social structure provides essential data that will assist in developing effective conservation management.
Although scientific documentation of orcas in the Gulf of California dates back several decades, orcas in this region remain the least studied in the world. Key aspects of their population size, social coordination and residence patterns remain unresolved due to a lack of historical data and the challenges associated with studying widely distributed marine predators. In 2018, our Orcas Mexico project began as a long-term research initiative that aims to improve our understanding of their ecological role in the region. To date, our observations indicate that Gulf orcas exhibit flexible and specialised feeding strategies, as well as extensive movements across the Eastern Tropical Pacific, which highlights the connectivity between Gulf and broader Pacific populations. Orcas’ feeding habits with respect to multiple elasmobranch species, including juvenile white and whale sharks, have revealed the use of advanced hunting techniques to immobilise their prey and selectively target the liver. Additional observations of orcas feeding on manta rays and other marine animals emphasise their role as apex predators that shape the dynamics of the local food web. Taken together, our work has significantly improved our understanding of killer whale ecology in the Gulf of California and underscores the need for continuous, long-term monitoring to inform effective conservation and management strategies.
The objective of this project is to determine the existence of a previously undescribed orca ecotype in the Gulf of California. The comprehensive approach employed to achieve this goal includes:
- Incorporating fatty acid analysis of skin and blubber biopsies to assess with greater precision the composition and quality of the orcas’ diet.
- Studying orca vocalisations, particularly pulsed calls and dialects, while they are feeding and coordinating socially to gain insights into kinship and social structure and thus identify specific family groups.
- Applying artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques to the analysis of acoustic and photo-identification datasets to facilitate the accurate identification of each orca, as well as the classification and analysis of complex, population-specific vocalisations and matrilines.
- Deploying an array of hydrophones at strategically selected locations within the Gulf of California, with an emphasis on the region between Los Cabos and La Paz Bay, to support the acoustic component of this research.