Global climate drives southern right whale (Eubalaena australis) population dynamics

Leaper, Russell; Cooke, Justin; Trathan, Phil; Reid, Keith; Rowntree, Victoria; Payne, Roger. 2006 Global climate drives southern right whale (Eubalaena australis) population dynamics. Biology Letters, 2 (2). 289-292. 10.1098/rsbl.2005.0431

Full text not available from this repository.

Abstract/Summary

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.

Item Type:	Article
Identification Number/DOI:	10.1098/rsbl.2005.0431
Programmes:	BAS Programmes > Global Science in the Antarctic Context (2005-2009) > DISCOVERY 2010 - Integrating Southern Ocean Ecosystems into the Earth System
ISSN:	1744-9651
Additional Information:	Full text not available from this repository
Additional Keywords:	Whales ; Sea surface temperature; Interannual variability; ENSO; South Georgia
NORA Subject Terms:	Zoology Ecology and Environment
Date made live:	31 Aug 2007 10:51
URI:	http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/73

Actions (login required)

View Item