Ocean warming threatens southern right whale population recovery

Macarena Agrelo; Fábio G. Daura-Jorge; Victoria J. Rowntree; Mariano Sironi; Philip S. Hammond; Simon N. Ingram; Carina F. Marón; Florencia O. Vilches; Jon Seger; Roger Payne; Paulo C. Simões-Lopes

doi:10.1126/sciadv.abh2823

Ocean warming threatens southern right whale population recovery

Macarena Agrelo^*
, Fábio G. Daura-Jorge
, Victoria J. Rowntree
, Mariano Sironi
, Philip S. Hammond
, Simon N. Ingram
, Carina F. Marón
, Florencia O. Vilches
, Jon Seger
, Roger Payne
, Paulo C. Simões-Lopes

^*Corresponding author for this work

Instituto de Conservación de Ballenas
Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina
Ocean Alliance
University of Utah
Universidad Nacional de Cordoba
University of St Andrews
University of California at Santa Cruz

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

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Abstract

Whales contribute to marine ecosystem functioning, and they may play a role in mitigating climate change and
supporting the Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) population, a keystone prey species that sustains the entire
Southern Ocean (SO) ecosystem. By analyzing a five-decade (1971–2017) data series of individual southern right
whales (SRWs; Eubalaena australis) photo-identified at Península Valdés, Argentina, we found a marked increase
in whale mortality rates following El Niño events. By modeling how the population responds to changes in the
frequency and intensity of El Niño events, we found that such events are likely to impede SRW population recovery
and could even cause population decline. Such outcomes have the potential to disrupt food-web interactions in
the SO, weakening that ecosystem’s contribution to the mitigation of climate change at a global scale.

Original language	English
Journal	Science advances
Volume	7
Issue number	42
Early online date	15 Oct 2021
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abh2823
Publication status	Published - 15 Oct 2021

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 13 Climate Action

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SciadvFinal published version, 336 KBLicence: CC BY-NC

Cite this

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title = "Ocean warming threatens southern right whale population recovery",

abstract = "Whales contribute to marine ecosystem functioning, and they may play a role in mitigating climate change and supporting the Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) population, a keystone prey species that sustains the entire Southern Ocean (SO) ecosystem. By analyzing a five-decade (1971{\textendash}2017) data series of individual southern right whales (SRWs; Eubalaena australis) photo-identified at Pen{\'i}nsula Vald{\'e}s, Argentina, we found a marked increase in whale mortality rates following El Ni{\~n}o events. By modeling how the population responds to changes in the frequency and intensity of El Ni{\~n}o events, we found that such events are likely to impede SRW population recovery and could even cause population decline. Such outcomes have the potential to disrupt food-web interactions in the SO, weakening that ecosystem{\textquoteright}s contribution to the mitigation of climate change at a global scale.",

author = "Macarena Agrelo and Daura-Jorge, \{F{\'a}bio G.\} and Rowntree, \{Victoria J.\} and Mariano Sironi and Hammond, \{Philip S.\} and Ingram, \{Simon N.\} and Mar{\'o}n, \{Carina F.\} and Vilches, \{Florencia O.\} and Jon Seger and Roger Payne and Sim{\~o}es-Lopes, \{Paulo C.\}",

year = "2021",

month = oct,

day = "15",

doi = "10.1126/sciadv.abh2823",

language = "English",

volume = "7",

journal = "Science advances",

issn = "2375-2548",

publisher = "American Association for the Advancement of Science",

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TY - JOUR

T1 - Ocean warming threatens southern right whale population recovery

AU - Agrelo, Macarena

AU - Daura-Jorge, Fábio G.

AU - Rowntree, Victoria J.

AU - Sironi, Mariano

AU - Hammond, Philip S.

AU - Ingram, Simon N.

AU - Marón, Carina F.

AU - Vilches, Florencia O.

AU - Seger, Jon

AU - Payne, Roger

AU - Simões-Lopes, Paulo C.

PY - 2021/10/15

Y1 - 2021/10/15

N2 - Whales contribute to marine ecosystem functioning, and they may play a role in mitigating climate change and supporting the Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) population, a keystone prey species that sustains the entire Southern Ocean (SO) ecosystem. By analyzing a five-decade (1971–2017) data series of individual southern right whales (SRWs; Eubalaena australis) photo-identified at Península Valdés, Argentina, we found a marked increase in whale mortality rates following El Niño events. By modeling how the population responds to changes in the frequency and intensity of El Niño events, we found that such events are likely to impede SRW population recovery and could even cause population decline. Such outcomes have the potential to disrupt food-web interactions in the SO, weakening that ecosystem’s contribution to the mitigation of climate change at a global scale.

AB - Whales contribute to marine ecosystem functioning, and they may play a role in mitigating climate change and supporting the Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) population, a keystone prey species that sustains the entire Southern Ocean (SO) ecosystem. By analyzing a five-decade (1971–2017) data series of individual southern right whales (SRWs; Eubalaena australis) photo-identified at Península Valdés, Argentina, we found a marked increase in whale mortality rates following El Niño events. By modeling how the population responds to changes in the frequency and intensity of El Niño events, we found that such events are likely to impede SRW population recovery and could even cause population decline. Such outcomes have the potential to disrupt food-web interactions in the SO, weakening that ecosystem’s contribution to the mitigation of climate change at a global scale.

UR - https://pearl.plymouth.ac.uk/bms-research/1244/

U2 - 10.1126/sciadv.abh2823

DO - 10.1126/sciadv.abh2823

M3 - Article

SN - 2375-2548

VL - 7

JO - Science advances

JF - Science advances

IS - 42

ER -

Ocean warming threatens southern right whale population recovery

Abstract

UN SDGs

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