Population changes in a Southern Ocean krill predator point towards regional Antarctic sea ice declines.

ABSTRACT: While foraging, marine predators integrate information about the environment often across wide-ranging oceanic foraging grounds and reflect these in population parameters. One such species, the southern right whale (Eubalaena australis; SRW) has shown alterations to foraging behaviour, declines in body condition, and reduced reproductive rates after 2009 in the South African population. As capital breeders, these changes suggest decreased availability of their main prey at high-latitudes, Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba). This study analysed environmental factors affecting prey availability for this population over the past 40 years, finding a notable southward contraction in sea ice, a 15-30% decline in sea ice concentration, and a more than two-fold increase in primary production metr

SUBMITTER: Germishuizen M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11519949 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature