'He's in our hearts': Family and friends still seek answers one year after Nathan Wise’s disappearance
It’s been a year since Nathan Wise went missing and his family is no closer to finding out what happened to him.
Melted sea ice in the Arctic Ocean has paved the way for killer whales to spend more time in these waters, but researchers worry that this could threaten species of prey in these areas, potentially throwing the ecosystem off balance.
Researchers from the University of Washington tracked the movement of aquatic species off the western and northern coasts of Alaska using underwater microphones between 2012 and 2019. They presented their findings at a conference held by the Acoustical Society of America on Thursday.
The researchers hadn't initially intended to focus on killer whales, but were surprised when they noticed that more and more orcas were moving into these waters.
“Our work mostly centres on examining the migration patterns of species through the Bering, Chukchi and Beaufort seas, based on acoustic presence or absence," lead author Brynn Kimber said in a news release.
"But when looking for other species, like beluga whales, I noticed more and more killer whales in areas where I didn’t expect them. That was what motivated me to take a closer look at our killer whale detections.”
Killer whales had normally stayed away from these waters to avoid ice entrapment -- which occurs when ice blocks the whales from coming up to the surface to breathe -- but the effects of climate change are causing the sea to be ice-free for longer periods.
“It’s not necessarily that killer whales haven’t been reported in these areas before, but that they appear to be remaining in the area for longer periods of time,” said Kimber. “This is likely in response to a longer open-water season.”
Kimber added that the September sea ice in the Arctic Ocean has declined at an average rate of 13 per cent per decade since the 1980s.
Several species of prey, such as the endangered bowhead whale, have taken advantage of the sea ice to avoid predation by killer whales, but the declining sea ice has offered the orcas a new abundant source of food, which could put these species of prey at risk.
"These results speak to a changing Arctic, both in terms of the presence of killer whales themselves and in terms of the impact that increased killer whale predation could have on Arctic food webs," the authors wrote.
It’s been a year since Nathan Wise went missing and his family is no closer to finding out what happened to him.
Dozens of Ontarians are expressing frustration in the province’s health-care system after their family doctors either dropped them as patients or threatened to after they sought urgent care elsewhere.
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
Amazon's paid subscription service provides free delivery for online shopping across Canada except for remote locations, the company said in an email. While customers in Iqaluit qualify for the offer, all other communities in Nunavut are excluded.
The fire burning near Fort McMurray grew from 25 hectares to 5,500 hectares over the weekend.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin began a Cabinet shakeup on Sunday, proposing the replacement of Sergei Shoigu as defence minister as he begins his fifth term in office.
Police are searching for a male suspect after a man was “slashed in neck” on Sunday morning in downtown Toronto and died.
There were some scary moments for several people on a northern Ontario highway caught on video Thursday after a chain reaction following a truck fire.
Health Canada announced various product recalls this week, including electric adapters, armchairs, cannabis edibles and vehicle components.
English, history, entertainment, math and geography: high school trivia teams could be quizzed on any of it when they compete at the Reach for the Top Nationals in Ottawa in June.
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.
The threat of zebra mussels has prompted the federal government to temporarily ban watercraft from a Manitoba lake popular with tourists.
A small Ajax dessert shop that recently received a glowing review from celebrity food critic Keith Lee is being forced to move after a zoning complaint was made following the social media influencer’s visit last month.
The Canada Science and Technology Museum is inviting visitors to explore their poop. A new exhibition opens at the Ottawa museum on Friday called, 'Oh Crap! Rethinking human waste.'
The Regina Police Service says it is the first in Saskatchewan and possibly Canada to implement new technology in its detention facility that will offer real-time monitoring of detainees’ vital health metrics.
Just as she had feared, a restaurant owner from eastern Quebec who visited Montreal had her SUV stolen, but says it was all thanks to the kindness of strangers on the internet — not the police — that she got it back.