Orcas are apex predators with no natural predators. What keeps their populations in check?
Posted by Old_Front4155@reddit | marinebiology | View on Reddit | 10 comments
As far as I’ve read, orcas protect their babies, that would prevent infanticide by outside males wanting to make females receptive to mating. If they have no predators, is it food, space, and/or long maturation that controls their population?
Iamnotburgerking@reddit
Lack of food.
workshop_prompts@reddit
Long pregnancy, long maternal care, long time to maturation, mostly. Food availability is, of course, another. Being an apex predator doesn't mean you're always successful (most mammal apex predators are kinda low in success rate), and they do have astronomical caloric needs.
Universalsupporter@reddit
But enough about me. Much of this applies to Orcas as well.
stillinthesimulation@reddit
Microplastics
marinebiology-ModTeam@reddit
Your post was removed as it violated rule #8: Responses to identification requests or questions must be an honest attempt at answering. This includes blatant misidentifications and overly-general/unhelpful identifications or answers.
leadfoot70@reddit
I would guess food supply and long gestation/rearing time.
SurayaThrowaway12@reddit
They can reach carrying capacity.
RealLifeSunfish@reddit
Predator populations are dictated by the availability of prey.
Mabel_Waddles_BFF@reddit
The babies are still at risk from predators. There’s a reason orca pods will get rid of great white sharks that are nearby.
UmmHelloIGuess@reddit
Food plays a huge part of controlling populations in orcas. Just take a look at the two populations in the PNW, the southern residents and biggs (transients).
Salmon, particularly the Chinook salmon, makes up 80% of their diet and as the salmon population continues to decline so do the resident population.
Now the biggs population continues to grow and thrive as do the seal and sea lion population in the PNW.