MARMAM, Over the past ten years there has been considerable debate regarding the role of killer whale predation on marine mammal declines in the North Pacific. The publication series is an excellent example of scientific debate that should be of interest to both the scientific and non-scientific communities. The following list of publications provides some of the key issues and the opportunity for comparative analysis. Seminar groups may find the series fodder for extended discussions. Best, Terrie M. Williams williams@biology.ucsc.edu 1. Estes, J.A., Tinker, M.T., Williams, T.M., and Doak, D.F. (1998) Killer whale predation on sea otters linking oceanic and nearshore ecosystems. Science 282: 473-476. Provides initial evidence regarding the potential impact of killer whale predation on sea otter populations in the Aleutian Islands. 2. Springer, A.M., Estes, J.A., van Vliet, G.B., Williams, T.M., Doak, D.F., Danner, E.M., Forney, K.A., and Pfister, B. (2003) Sequential megafaunal collapse in the North Pacific Ocean: An ongoing legacy of industrial whaling? Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 100(21): 12223-12228. Suggests a mechanism that may have instigated changes in predation pressure by killer whales. 3. Williams, T.M., Estes, J.A., Doak, D.F., and Springer, A.M. (2004) Killer appetites: Assessing the role of predators in ecological communities. Ecology 85(12): 3373-3384. Provides details on the energetic analysis and extends the predation argument to Steller sea lions. 4. A side-by-side debate hosted by the Society of Marine Mammalogy culminated in the following articles, which were to be published as a point-counterpoint series in Marine Mammal Science. Trites, A.W., Deecke, V.B., Gregr, E.J., Ford, J.K.B., and Olesiuk, P.F. (2007) Killer whales, whaling, and sequential megafaunal collapse in the North Pacific: A comparative analysis of the dynamics of marine mammals in Alaska and British Columbia following commercial whaling. Marine Mammal Science 23(4): 751765. Wade, P.R. and 22 others (2007) Killer whales and marine mammal trends in the North Pacific a re-examination of evidence for sequential megafaunal collapse and the prey switching hypothesis. Marine Mammal Science 23(4): 766802. Springer, A.M., Estes, J.A., vanVliet, G.B., Williams, T.M, Doak, D.F., Danner, E.M., and Pfister, B. (2008) Mammal-eating killer whales, industrial whaling, and the sequential megafaunal collapse in the North Pacific Ocean: A reply to critics of Springer et al. 2003. Marine Mammal Science 24(2): 414442.