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Carah Fukumoto
Professor Greg McClure
Writing 39C
2 August 2015
A Historical Review on Orcas Complex Communication and Social Structure
An influential part of growing up is having a supportive, caring family who will take care
of you and stick by your side no matter the situation. Not only do humans seek this
companionship and support through family, but so do animals, as well. Since animals are
considered to live parallel lives to humans, they can be closely compared and related to the way
humans live and act. Donald Griffin, a professor of zoology and researcher in animal behavior,
includes earlier research in his book, Animal Thinking, that the use of an animals intentional
communicative signals to portray certain messages is proof of their conscious thinking (Griffin).
Recently, in the TIME article, The power of the pack: life in animal society, Jeffrey Kluger
shares that despite the differences in an animals anatomical features and the language barrier,
they are often considered our equals (23). Alongside animal behavior and their cognitive
abilities, communication is an aspect that has indicated human and animal similarities in the past
and in the present. This comparison between humans and non-humans provides an opportunity
for animals to not be looked down upon, but, rather, respectable proportional beings.
In this review I utilize multiple scientific studies and sources to examine the importance
of the complex Orcinus orca social structure, the communication between pods, and how that has
affected orca social behavior over time. First, I mention the history of the social structure behind
killer whales, and the use of vocalization to demonstrate the complex communication of
cetaceans. I refer to dolphin researchers and observers, Randall S. Wells, Michael D. Scott, and

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A. Blair Irvine, to discuss dolphin social structure, which Orcinus orcas are closely related to. I
will also broach on the subject of the close bond killer whales and other marine mammals shares
within their pods. And lastly, I will reveal studies on how detaching and disturbing those
mammals from their kinship can be dangerous. This review is an attempt to portray the close and
necessary bond Orcinus orcas share to emphasize the importance of those bonds in survival.
Examples of incidents by orcas and the dangers they suffer living with or without their pods will
raise the issue of orcas and their social behavior.
Since Orcinus orcas are a part of the Delphinidae family, we can utilize research about
the social structure of dolphins to conclude the social structure of orcas. Aoife Foley et al., a
collaborate group of individuals interested in the marine study of dolphins, observe the social
structure of bottlenose dolphins through technological devices and measurements, and records
their findings in their research paper, Social Structure Within the Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops
truncatus) Population in the Shannon Estuary, Ireland. Information on the evolutionary social
structure of terrestrial mammal groups has been gathered to conclude terrestrial social structure,
but recently the cetacean social structure has gone against the same adaptive model as the
terrestrial mammals. Cetacean studies and information accumulate every year because of the
complex context of the social interactions within the pods. They discovered that cetaceans social
groups vary in composition on an hourly or daily basis (Foley et al. 372). They call this system
a fission-fusion society because of the fluid and dynamic aspect the cetacean community takes
on. Studies that gather information on the mammals age, sex, and family relation, and the
population measurements movements, habitats, and associations allow scientists to discover the
boundless qualities that contribute to the complex social structure of cetaceans. Although

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researchers find it difficult to determine a specific social structure, they have been able to study
complex orca communication to develop stronger evidence of social groups.
Nousek et al., a group of researchers on the Northern resident killer whales, describes in
their scientific research, The Influence of Social Affiliation on Individual Vocal Signatures of
Northern Resident Killer Whales (Orcinus orca), that the discovery of signals providing multiple
levels of social affiliation makes it ambiguous as to how to determine their direct form of
communication. The Orcinus orca communicates through complicated vocalizations and
echolocations. Though other animals share similar forms of communication and signal
detections, such as a bats ability to echolocate and a chimpanzees ability to send alarm calls to
fellow chimps, cetacean vocalizations are by far the most convoluted. Because of the inability to
read the complex form of communication in orcas, the vocal convergence at the group level
does not preclude individual distinctiveness among the affiliated group members (Nousek et al.
1). There are far too many forms of sounds used by orcas in different situations and pods to
identify a specific vocalization for all killer whales.
In the article, Dependence of Killer Whale (Orcinus orca) Acoustic Signals on the Type of
Activity and Social Context, Olga Filatova, a biologist who focuses on the vocal dialect of killer
whales, and other credible researchers distinguish that orca pods usually share the same vocal
dialect, while the pods with similar dialects comprise clans (790). The image below graphs data
of orca pods involved in different activities, and how each activity requires a number of pods,
which will entail a variety of calls (Filatova 791). The groupings of orcas have a variation of
calls between different pods, but they share similar calls within their own group. The two calls,
monophonic and biphonic, are used differently, such that biphonic calls function as markers of
pod and matriline affiliation, serving mainly to maintain the contact between the related

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individuals on a distance (Filatova et al. 794). Orcas need this source of communication so that
they

can

travel distances and still connect and locate the others that are in their matrilineal pod.

Figure 1. A table of the different pods for different actions. Biology Letters.
Nousek et al. claim orcas to live in highly stable matrilineal units, which come together to form
pods (1). Killer whales are known to have very close-knit, harmonious families who work
together, as aforementioned in the image above, to increase their survival rates in all
circumstances.
The females of the group lead these marine mammals, and they are also alloparented.
Burreau-ologist, Sarah Allen, and marine mammal responder, Moe Flannery, observe killer
whale activity on the California coast. They notice how orca families grouped together to hunt,
and usually the females will do the work with the help of some males, while the young ones
watch (Allen 28). In Volker B. Deeckes, an expertise in Marine Biology and Animal
Communication, article, The Structure of Stereotyped Calls Reflects Kinship and Social
Affiliation in Resident Killer Whales (Orcinus orca), both male and female offspring typically
travel with their mothers for their entire lives (Volker et al.). Female Orcinus orcas play major

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roles in the survival of their young. Susan Milius, Science News magazine writer, states that
orca daughters face a fivefold increase of death in the first year without their mothers (8-9).
Mother killer whales are crucial in the survival for their young. They need to be protected and
led by a strong leader who knows what they are doing in the wild. With this knowledge of
dependence, the reason for orca bonds is understandable. If this bond is to be disturbed or
detached, then orcas are bound to fall physically, mentally, and emotionally.
Humans have been a source of orca disturbance all over the world, whether it is with our
environmental effects or our captive tendencies. The Orcinus orcas differ in behavior and
lifestyle depending on their location, but some issues affecting orcas are similar in all areas.
Some human-made issues created are overfishing, pollution, and surface impacts, but Ross et al.
states that the PCBs present the greatest `dioxin-like' risk to killer whales (512). Ross et al.,
associated with ocean sciences, describes the toxic exposure humans have developed for nature
in the Marine Pollution Bulletin. Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs), created by the industrial and
electrical companies, bioaccumulate in lipid tissues of animals occupying high trophic levels in
aquatic food webs (Ross et al). What humans have created brings harm to marine animals,
eliminating and contaminating food sources for the larger mammals who depend on the smaller
marine animals to survive. This dependency may ultimately eliminate killer whales, leaving their
species to die out. Over time, the Males become increasingly contaminated as they grow older,
while females off-load contaminants to their offspring during pregnancy and lactation (Ross
et al. 505). Humans create this unintentional harm that spreads throughout the species and
corrupts their survival. Humans get involved when they feel that they are the only physical
solution to saving the orcas from the environmental issues.

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Humans may justify their reason to capture these large mammals by stating that they are
saving them from the outside problems. Instead of letting the orcas be free with their families in
the wild, they hold orcas captive in small tanks and feed them little. Separating orcas from their
pods and containing the large mammals in such small space causes the same majestic,
harmonious cetacean to turn into a depressed, angered puppet. John S. Jett, a research professor
at Stetson University, and Jeffrey M. Ventre, a physician, look at the incidents that occur in
SeaWorld. They write about one of their captive orcas, Kandu V, who purposely inflicted an
injury by
expressing
aggression
toward
another
captive orca in
their article,

Figure 2. Captive killer whales with collapsed

dorsal fins reveal depression. The Orca Project. Keto & Tilikum Express the Stress of
Orca Captivity (Jett and Ventre 2).
Another captive orca, Tilikum
expressed his stress and anger by killing two of his trainer purposely. There are not cases of
expressed anger in wild orcas. They have no reason to be harmful, but the ones who have been
held captive generate anger and stress because of the separation we have created between their
families. These whales demonstrate how unhealthy captivity is with their collapsed dorsal fins, as
shown in figure 2 above.

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In conclusion, these majestic marine mammals live and survive through their ability to
group together. They need to be free and with their pods. They need to communicate with one
another in their freedom being, and they need their matrilineal units in order to grow
successfully. It would be hard growing up without a family or anyone to take care of you. It is
almost impossible, and it is detrimental toward your health and your life. Protecting the Orcinus
orcas in the wild is a lot more effective than trying to save them by conserving them in bounded
areas. We must rethink some of the actions we take upon trying to save a species. Two questions
we must consider when trying to help animals is: 1) Are we doing what is best for these animals?
And 2) Are they living as natural as they can be? We cannot save animals by forcing them out of
their natural habitat and into experiments and entertainment. We can only save animals if we
change our actions in this world, and find animal groups who are doing what is best for the
endangered species and support them. If we would not want to be separated from our family,
then I do no think Orcinus orcas would either. Animals are no different than us, besides our
differences in communication, so why should we treat them any like they are?

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WorksCited
Allen, Sarah, and Moe Flannery. "ORCAS Of The CALIFORNIA COAST." Bay Nature 14.1
(2014): 24-31. Academic Search Complete. Web. 20 July 2015.
Deecke, Volker B., Lance G. Barrett-Lennard, Paul Spong, and John K. B. Ford. "The Structure
of Stereotyped Calls Reflects Kinship and Social Affiliation in Resident Killer Whales
(Orcinus Orca)." Naturwissenschaften 97.5 (2010): 513-18. Web.
Filatova, O. A., et al. "Dependence Of Killer Whale (Orcinus Orca) Acoustic Signals On The
Type Of Activity And Social Context." Biology Bulletin 40.7 (2013): 790-796. Academic
Search Complete. Web. 20 July 2015.
Foley, Aoife, et al. "Social Structure Within The Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops Truncatus)
Population In The Shannon Estuary, Ireland." Aquatic Mammals 36.4 (2010): 372381. Academic Search Complete. Web. 20 July 2015.
Griffin, Donald Redfield. Animal Thinking. Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP, 1984. 456-64. Print.
Jett, John S., and Jeffrey M. Ventre. Keto & Tilikum Express the Stress of Orca Captivity (2011):
1-21. Web. 20 July 2015.
Keister, Carole. "Killer Allure." Earthwatch Institute Journal 22.3 (2003): 46. Academic Search
Complete. Web. 20 July 2015.
Kluger, Jeffrey. Social Groups. TIME: The Animal Mind. 20-31. Print.

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Milius, Susan. "Life & Evolution: Postmenopausal Orcas Guide Hunts: By Finding Fish, Older
Females May Improve Survival of Kin." Science News, 187: 89.
doi: 10.1002/scin.2015.187007005. 24 Mar. 2015. Web. 20 July 2015.
Nousek, Anna E., Peter J.B Slater, Chao Wang, and Patrick J.O Miller. "The Influence of Social
Affiliation on Individual Vocal Signatures of Northern Resident Killer Whales (Orcinus
Orca)." Biology Letters. 2006 2 481-484; DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2006.0517., 22 Dec. 2006.
Web. 19 July 2015.
Ross, P.S et al. "High PCB Concentrations in Free-Ranging Pacific Killer Whales, Orcinus Orca:
Effects of Age, Sex and Dietary Preference." ScienceDirect. Marine Pollution Bulletin,
June 2000. Web. 20 July 2015.