Global climate drives southern right whale (Eubalaena australis) population dynamics.
Sea surface temperature (SST) time-series from the southwest Atlantic and the El Niño 4 region in the western Pacific were compared to an index of annual calving success of the southern right whale (Eubalaena australis) breeding in Argentina. There was a strong relationship between right whale calving output and SST anomalies at South Georgia in the autumn of the previous year and also with mean El Niño 4 SST anomalies delayed by 6 years. These results extend similar observations from other krill predators and show clear linkages between global climate signals and the biological processes affecting whale population dynamics.
Leaper
Russell
R
International Fund for Animal Welfare, 87-90 Albert Embankment, London 1 7UD, UK. russell@ivyt.demon.co.uk
Cooke
Justin
J
Trathan
Phil
P
Reid
Keith
K
Rowntree
Victoria
V
Payne
Roger
R
D000818:Animals; D002980:Climate; D004190:Disasters; D011157:Population Dynamics; D012098:Reproduction; D013696:Temperature; D014907:Whales / Q000502:physiology*