Humpback whales had begun to recover after the banning of commercial whaling more than 40 years ago, but the creatures experienced an alarming setback that appears to have been triggered by warmer-than-average ocean temperatures.
What happened?
A new study by Royal Society Open Science found that humpback whales in the North Pacific lost an estimated 20% of their population between 2012 and 2021, and environmental factors appear to be the root cause.
Specifically, as detailed by the Guardian, maximum ocean temperatures between 2014 and 2016 were three to six degrees Celsius (5.4 to 10.8 degrees Fahrenheit) higher than normal.
Scientists believe this caused phytoplankton to begin dying off, creating a ripple effect throughout the food chain that left less sustenance for the whales. That also led to reduced reproduction rates. Approximately 7,000 of the creatures went missing and are thought to have died in less than 10 years.
"It was definitely an unusual mortality event," Southern Cross University biologist Ted Cheeseman, who led the study, told the news outlet. "Humpback whales are flexible, and willing to switch from krill to herring or anchovies to salmon fry. But when the whole ecosystem decreases in productivity, it hurts them big time."
Why is this concerning?
When the creatures in our oceans suffer, it can be an indication that something is amiss at a systemic level.
"These animals are truly sentinels of the ocean. Healthy oceans make healthy whales and vice versa," said Lars Bejder, the director of the Marine Mammal Research Program at the University of Hawai'i and a co-author of the study, as reported by the Guardian.
An unhealthy ocean could result in wide-ranging impacts on life on this planet as a whole, as billions of people depend on our waters for food and income.
What can be done about this?
Long-term monitoring and collaboration can help researchers accurately assess the situation to develop solutions or recommendations to protect the whales and our planet, according to Bejder, who told the Guardian that these types of programs "are absolutely critical because they allow us to look at the effects of large-scale oceanographic events."
Happywhale is an organization that allows individuals to contribute data that can then be used by scientists. Another way to help is by limiting your consumption of single-use plastics and switching to cheaper, clean forms of energy like solar power.
According to NASA, our oceans have been warming significantly since 1998, and a major reason for this is the fact that our oceans soak up as much as 90% of the planet-warming pollution generated by human activities.
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