Dubai Telegraph - Gray whales shrinking fast as climate warms

EUR -
AED 3.826681
AFN 70.961758
ALL 98.138602
AMD 405.652886
ANG 1.877182
AOA 951.190259
ARS 1045.720247
AUD 1.602814
AWG 1.877897
AZN 1.775245
BAM 1.955573
BBD 2.102956
BDT 124.465544
BGN 1.955294
BHD 0.392554
BIF 3076.642669
BMD 1.041829
BND 1.403837
BOB 7.197164
BRL 6.043693
BSD 1.041579
BTN 87.914489
BWP 14.229347
BYN 3.408604
BYR 20419.848375
BZD 2.099456
CAD 1.456529
CDF 2991.091432
CHF 0.930957
CLF 0.036923
CLP 1018.83097
CNY 7.54601
CNH 7.562783
COP 4573.368835
CRC 530.538382
CUC 1.041829
CUP 27.608468
CVE 110.252195
CZK 25.343745
DJF 185.478458
DKK 7.457729
DOP 62.772709
DZD 139.835759
EGP 51.726992
ERN 15.627435
ETB 127.508391
FJD 2.371151
FKP 0.822333
GBP 0.831435
GEL 2.855018
GGP 0.822333
GHS 16.456089
GIP 0.822333
GMD 73.970229
GNF 8977.957272
GTQ 8.040066
GYD 217.904692
HKD 8.110066
HNL 26.320943
HRK 7.431636
HTG 136.72412
HUF 411.522823
IDR 16610.452733
ILS 3.856892
IMP 0.822333
INR 87.968134
IQD 1364.44153
IRR 43834.955489
ISK 145.523076
JEP 0.822333
JMD 165.930728
JOD 0.738765
JPY 161.244275
KES 134.884334
KGS 90.122166
KHR 4193.512952
KMF 492.268155
KPW 937.645704
KRW 1463.259646
KWD 0.320727
KYD 0.867999
KZT 520.059599
LAK 22878.342838
LBP 93271.167197
LKR 303.144792
LRD 187.998165
LSL 18.795317
LTL 3.076251
LVL 0.630192
LYD 5.086409
MAD 10.478083
MDL 18.997794
MGA 4861.435378
MKD 61.522855
MMK 3383.819949
MNT 3540.134882
MOP 8.35093
MRU 41.443187
MUR 48.810083
MVR 16.10707
MWK 1806.090235
MXN 21.283008
MYR 4.654932
MZN 66.583684
NAD 18.795317
NGN 1767.675143
NIO 38.325549
NOK 11.53576
NPR 140.663663
NZD 1.785942
OMR 0.400943
PAB 1.041579
PEN 3.949541
PGK 4.193513
PHP 61.404399
PKR 289.239507
PLN 4.337676
PYG 8131.055634
QAR 3.798559
RON 4.978071
RSD 116.991412
RUB 108.671879
RWF 1421.834864
SAR 3.911473
SBD 8.734231
SCR 14.272055
SDG 626.663972
SEK 11.497837
SGD 1.402931
SHP 0.822333
SLE 23.68116
SLL 21846.638123
SOS 595.230868
SRD 36.978718
STD 21563.75683
SVC 9.113941
SYP 2617.626467
SZL 18.788818
THB 35.922648
TJS 11.092512
TMT 3.646401
TND 3.309016
TOP 2.440072
TRY 35.9978
TTD 7.074178
TWD 33.946439
TZS 2770.578216
UAH 43.089995
UGX 3848.553017
USD 1.041829
UYU 44.294855
UZS 13362.448044
VES 48.506662
VND 26482.251319
VUV 123.688032
WST 2.90836
XAF 655.880824
XAG 0.033274
XAU 0.000384
XCD 2.815595
XDR 0.792308
XOF 655.880824
XPF 119.331742
YER 260.379151
ZAR 18.915093
ZMK 9377.71492
ZMW 28.772658
ZWL 335.468513
  • BCC

    3.4200

    143.78

    +2.38%

  • SCS

    0.2300

    13.27

    +1.73%

  • RIO

    -0.2200

    62.35

    -0.35%

  • CMSD

    0.0150

    24.46

    +0.06%

  • RYCEF

    -0.0100

    6.79

    -0.15%

  • RELX

    0.9900

    46.75

    +2.12%

  • BCE

    0.0900

    26.77

    +0.34%

  • NGG

    1.0296

    63.11

    +1.63%

  • VOD

    0.1323

    8.73

    +1.52%

  • RBGPF

    59.2400

    59.24

    +100%

  • GSK

    0.2600

    33.96

    +0.77%

  • JRI

    -0.0200

    13.21

    -0.15%

  • BTI

    0.4000

    37.38

    +1.07%

  • BP

    0.2000

    29.72

    +0.67%

  • CMSC

    0.0320

    24.672

    +0.13%

  • AZN

    1.3700

    65.63

    +2.09%

Gray whales shrinking fast as climate warms
Gray whales shrinking fast as climate warms / Photo: ALFREDO ESTRELLA - AFP/File

Gray whales shrinking fast as climate warms

Pacific coast gray whales have shrunk in length an astonishing 13 percent since 2000, adding to evidence that climate change and other human activities are making marine mammals smaller, a study says.

Text size:

Their diminished size could have big impacts on survival rates and reproductive success -- and trigger ripple effects throughout their entire food webs.

For the paper, researchers focused on the Pacific Coast Feeding Group (PCFG) -- around 200 whales that are part of the wider Eastern North Pacific (ENP) population of around 14,500.

Considered "ecosystem sentinels," they stay closer to shore, feeding in shallower, warmer waters, than the wider population that inhabits colder, deeper Arctic seas. Prior research had shown they are in worse shape than their counterparts, with smaller bodies, heads and flukes.

"Now we know they have been shrinking in body size over the past 20-40 years, which may be an early warning sign that the population is at risk of declining," Kevin Bierlich, an assistant professor at Oregon State University and co-author of the paper in Global Change Biology, told AFP on Thursday.

By analyzing drone images taken from 2016-2022 of 130 individuals whose age was estimated or known, the scientists found a striking trend: a gray whale born in 2020 is likely to reach a full-grown adult length of approximately 1.65 meters (5ft 5in) less than a counterpart born in 2000.

This represents a significant 13 percent decrease in the total length of mature gray whales, which typically measure between 38-41 feet in length.

Notably, the decline was more pronounced in females, who historically exceeded males in size but are now comparable.

It would be the equivalent of seeing the average height of an American woman plummeting from 5ft 4in to 4ft 8in over two decades.

- Size matters -

"In general, size is critical for animals," said Enrico Pirotta, lead author on the study and a researcher at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland.

"It affects their behavior, their physiology, their life history, and it has cascading effects for the animals and for the community they're a part of."

Smaller whale calves may have lower survival rates when they stop weaning, while for adults, the major concern is reproductive success.

The species relies on energy reserves stored during the feeding season to support the demands of migration and reproduction during winter -- and the question arises whether they are able to put enough energy towards reproduction and keeping the population growing.

Importantly, the study found the trend was correlated with changes to the balance of "upwelling" and "relaxation" cycles of the ocean.

Upwelling transports nutrients from deeper waters to shallower areas. During relaxation periods, these nutrients remain in the shallower zones, where light enables plankton and other small species that whales feed on to grow.

Climate change is known to be an important factor affecting the dynamics of this delicate balance, through changes in wind patterns and water temperature.

A smaller stature may not only hinder whales' ability to thrive, but also increase their vulnerability to threats such as collisions with boats and entanglement in fishing gear, which can be deadly.

B.Gopalan--DT