A study released Monday found that a group of Southern Resident killer whales found off the west coast may be dying because of inbreeding, substantially impacting their lifespan. The study’s findings, published in Nature Ecology & Evolution, could help explain why endangered whale populations continue to decline despite conservation efforts. “There's been a lot of interest for a long time in determining what factors are contributing to the lack of recovery of the Southern Resident killer whale population,” said Marty Kardos, a Northwest Fisheries Science Center researcher. “Some of them aren't reaching breeding age, and some of them are just dying earlier in life.” Read more: https://www.king5.com/article/tech/science/environment/orcas/study-southern-resident-killer-whale-population-inbreeding/281-8f0cc6f5-d906-444a-83b1-bc28c0332074