Whales born after 2000 were significantly shorter than those born during the 20th century, the researchers found.
By Erin Blakemore, The Washington PostGray whales that spend their summers feeding off the Pacific Northwest coast have experienced a significant decline in body length since around the year 2000, according to new research. Global Change Biology
The researchers combined the information with environmental data about factors that affect the whales’ foraging grounds, including the Pacific Decadal Oscillation, a fluctuation in sea temperatures that waxes and wanes about every 20 to 30 years in the Pacific Ocean. Current- and oscillation-driven upwelling is thought to push nutrient-rich phytoplankton into the whales’ foraging grounds, a process likely to be affected by climate change.
But whales born after 2000 were significantly shorter than those born during the 20th century, the researchers found, with a whale born after 2000 likely to reach a maximum length about 5 feet, 4 inches shorter than that of a whale born before 2000. The decline has been greater in females, which are now comparable in length to males.
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