ORCID

Abstract

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

Publication Date

2021-10-15

Publication Title

Science advances

Volume

7

Issue

42

Acceptance Date

2021-08-27

Deposit Date

2021-12-11

Embargo Period

2021-11-13

Funding

This work was supported by CAPES doctoral scholarship (M.A.), CAPES-PRINT grant 88887.370641/2019-00 (M.A.), CNPQ research grant 305573/2013-6 (P.C.S.-L.), and CNPQ research grant 407190/2012-0 (F.G.D.-J.). Funding for aerial surveys since 1971 was provided by numerous donors through Ocean Alliance and Instituto de Conservación de Ballenas such as Wildlife Conservation Society, National Geographic Society, World Wildlife Fund, Alfredo Fortabat Foundation, Turner Foundation, Canadian Whale Institute, I. Kerr, A. L. de Fortabat, S. Haney, A. and J. Moss, A. Morse, P. Singh, P. Logan, N. Griffis, and C. Walcott. Extended acknowledgments can be found in the Supplementary Materials.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License

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