Climate-Associated Regime Shifts Drive Decadal-Scale Variability in Recovery of North Atlantic Right Whale Population

Despite an elevated mortality rate from lethal interactions with humans, the North Atlantic right whale population has continued to grow during the first decade of the new millennium. This unexpected population growth is the result of a 128% increase in female-specific reproduction relative to the 1...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Oceanography (Washington, D.C.) D.C.), 2014-09, Vol.27 (3), p.148-153
Main Authors: MEYER-GUTBROD, ERIN L., GREENE, CHARLES H.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
BREAKING WAVES
Calanus finmarchicus
Calf production
Calves
Cetacea
Climate change
Ecosystems
Gulfs
Marine
Marine ecology
Marine ecosystems
Modeling
North Atlantic right whale
regime shifts
Reproduction
right whale
whale population
Whales
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Summary:Despite an elevated mortality rate from lethal interactions with humans, the North Atlantic right whale population has continued to grow during the first decade of the new millennium. This unexpected population growth is the result of a 128% increase in female-specific reproduction relative to the 1990s. Here, we demonstrate that the recent increase in annual right whale calf production is linked to a dramatic increase in the abundance of its major prey, the copepod speciesCalanus finmarchicus, in the Gulf of Maine. The resurgence ofC. finmarchicuswas associated with a regime shift remotely forced by climatic changes in the Arctic. We conclude that decadal-scale variability in right whale reproduction may be largely driven by fluctuations in prey availability linked to climate-associated ecosystem regime shifts.
ISSN:1042-8275
2377-617X
DOI:10.5670/oceanog.2014.64