WWF-UK: Whales chase shrinking feed zones as southern ocean warms
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Whales chase shrinking feed zones as southern ocean warms
Thursday 19 June 2008
Endangered migratory whales will be faced with shrinking Antarctic foraging zones which will contain less food and will be further away, a new WWF International report on the impacts of climate change on whales in the southern hemisphere, has found.
Ice breaker: Pushing the boundaries for whales, released just ahead of the opening of a crucial International Whaling Commission (IWC) meeting, reveals that levels of global warming predicted over the next 40 years will lead to winter sea-ice coverage of the Southern Ocean declining by up to 30 per cent in some key areas.
Migratory whales meanwhile may need to travel 200-500 kilometres further south to find the "frontal" zones which are their crucial foraging areas. Migratory whale species which will be affected include the Blue Whale, earth's largest living creature, and the humpback whales which are only now coming back from the brink of extinction after populations were decimated by commercial whaling in the 20th century.
"Essentially, what we are seeing is that ice-associated whales such as the Antarctic minke whale will face dramatic changes to their habitat over little more than the lifespan of an individual whale," said Heather Sohl, species officer at WWF-UK.
Both species build up the reserves that sustain them throughout the year in the frontal zones, which host large populations of their primary food source - krill.
"As frontal zones move southward, they also move closer together, reducing the overall area of
foraging habitat available," the research notes. As the krill is dependent on sea ice, less sea ice is also expected to reduce the abundance of food for whales in the feeding areas.
"The impact on whales is one more imperative for the world to take decisive action to reduce the risk of catastrophic climate change," Heather Sohl said. "However, the IWC must also take the opportunity of this meeting to look at every possible way to increase the resilience of whale populations to climate change.
"For Antarctica's whales, the best way to do this would be to reduce all other threats - such as the unregulated and unjustified so-called 'scientific whaling' of these species conducted by Japan."
WWF is recommending the protection of critical habitats and for also limiting other non-climate stresses to whale populations such as overfishing, pollution and ocean noise.
Migratory whales meanwhile may need to travel 200-500 kilometres further south to find the "frontal" zones which are their crucial foraging areas. Migratory whale species which will be affected include the Blue Whale, earth's largest living creature, and the humpback whales which are only now coming back from the brink of extinction after populations were decimated by commercial whaling in the 20th century.
"Essentially, what we are seeing is that ice-associated whales such as the Antarctic minke whale will face dramatic changes to their habitat over little more than the lifespan of an individual whale," said Heather Sohl, species officer at WWF-UK.
Both species build up the reserves that sustain them throughout the year in the frontal zones, which host large populations of their primary food source - krill.
"As frontal zones move southward, they also move closer together, reducing the overall area of
foraging habitat available," the research notes. As the krill is dependent on sea ice, less sea ice is also expected to reduce the abundance of food for whales in the feeding areas.
"The impact on whales is one more imperative for the world to take decisive action to reduce the risk of catastrophic climate change," Heather Sohl said. "However, the IWC must also take the opportunity of this meeting to look at every possible way to increase the resilience of whale populations to climate change.
"For Antarctica's whales, the best way to do this would be to reduce all other threats - such as the unregulated and unjustified so-called 'scientific whaling' of these species conducted by Japan."
WWF is recommending the protection of critical habitats and for also limiting other non-climate stresses to whale populations such as overfishing, pollution and ocean noise.
"What we are seeing is that ice-associated whales such as the Antarctic minke whale will face dramatic changes to their habitat over little more than the lifespan of an individual whale,"
Heather Sohl, species officer, WWF-UK
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