![\"image\"](\"http:\/\/planetsave.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/image2.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nPrevious work over the last ten years compiling a database of sighting (11,200 of them) had allowed for the creation of models that showed that the orcas were closely linked with the distribution of what is apparently their main prey in the region, red tuna. This older work also deter engined that these populations are much more limited in numbers than was previously thought. The new work built on this.<\/p>\n
“We have created two generalized models: the presence model (sightings of orcas) and the pseudo-absence model (sightings of other cetaceans), with the information gathered from the 11,276 sightings between 2002 and 2012,” stated Ruth Esteban, the main author of the new study and a researcher for Conservation, Information and Research on Cetaceans (CIRCE).<\/p>\n
The researchers devised a new model utilizing data from spring — when red tuna enter into the Mediterranean Sea –and an other model utilizing data from summer (when red tuna leave for the Atlantic Ocean).<\/p>\n
The findings make it clear that the presence of orcas is linked closely to the distribution of the red tuna during their migration. “This limits their distribution to the Gulf of Cadiz in spring and the Strait of Gibraltar in summer,” Esteban stated.<\/p>\n
In addition, Esteban noted that “any reduction in the abundance of tuna could endanger this population of orcas.” Simple observation, but worth noting.<\/p>\n