Find content specifically related to marine mammals of the Puget Sound and Salish Sea ecosystems. For checklists and descriptive accounts of individual species, visit our species library's marine mammals page.
Marine mammals
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Pink salmon now comprise nearly 80 percent of all adult salmon in the North Pacific. This record abundance is coming at a cost to other salmon species such as threatened Chinook, which compete with pinks for spawning territory. A new study shows that the ecological toll may extend all the way to endangered southern resident killer whales.
Just last year, scientists published the first direct evidence that noise interferes with orca feeding behavior. Officials hope a new law establishing a larger buffer zone between boats and endangered southern resident orcas will mean quieter seas and healthier whales.
The appropriately named common dolphin is probably the most abundant cetacean on the planet. Common dolphins occur in most of the world’s tropical and temperate waters. Historically, they have not been common in inshore waters in Puget Sound and the Salish Sea but they are becoming more frequent as water temperatures warm.
Minke whales are the most abundant baleen whale species worldwide. In the waters of the west coast of North America, their populations have remained small, but stable over time. They are hunted by transient killer whales due to their relatively small size compared with other baleen whales. Sighting rates for minke whales in the Salish Sea are highest during the summer, however, little is known about where minke whales spend the winter months.
Pacific white-sided dolphins (Lagenorhynchus obliquidens) are found in the colder offshore waters of the North Pacific, but they also occasionally occur in inshore waters of the Salish Sea, and more rarely, Puget Sound. They make use of cooperative foraging techniques, and feeding at night in dark conditions means their finely tuned sonar or echolocation serves them well.
Scientists can now identify the presence of species just by testing the water for traces of DNA. The relatively new technique is being compared to the invention of the telescope or the microscope as a significant new tool for understanding ecosystems like Puget Sound. It could be a revolution for tracking the movements of all kinds of species, from salmon and killer whales to invasive green crabs.