| Summary: | Baleen whale populations in the Southern Ocean are recovering after intense commercial whaling in the 20th century. Along the Western Antarctic Peninsula (WAP), this recovery is occurring in one of the planet's most rapidly changing marine ecosystems. Understanding how climate-driven changes influence the population dynamics of whales in this region is critical for understanding what conservation and management actions must be prioritized to maintain the structure and function of this marine ecosystem. This is even more important as this region has seen extraordinary increases in industrial krill fishery pressure, which overlaps in both time and space with whales foraging in this region, as well as increased human presence in the form of ecotourism. Thus, to begin understanding the dynamics of whale recovery under continued environmental change, we need to study these whales' demography and population dynamics. My dissertation aimed to examine and describe the demographics and population dynamics of two species of Southern Hemisphere baleen whales (Antarctic minke whales and Southern Hemisphere humpback whales) in the context of a rapidly changing ecosystem. To do this, I used one of the most extensive, non-lethal tissue archives of these two species, collected as part of the National Science Foundations (NSF) Palmer Station long-term ecological research (LTER) project. I found that on average, Antarctic minke whales reproduced each year and estimated that two-thirds of females along the WAP were sexually mature. More importantly, these data represent the first non-lethal approach to studying this species. Furthermore, I found that broad-scale environmental variation affecting krill abundance and availability along the WAP adversely impacted humpback whale pregnancy rates. This indicates that continued warming along the WAP that results in subsequent changes in the distribution and abundance of prey may adversely affect the recovery of this humpback whale population. Lastly, I found that blubber cortisol levels ...
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