IMPACTS OF CLIMATE-ASSOCIATED CHANGES IN PREY AVAILABILITY ON NORTH ATLANTIC RIGHT WHALE POPULATION DYNAMICS
Today’s oceans are undergoing rapid and unprecedented changes resulting from anthropogenic impacts. The North Atlantic right whale, one of the most endangered baleen whales with just over 500 animals remaining in the species, is one example of a species at risk resulting from human influence. Modern...
Main Author: | |
---|---|
Other Authors: | , , , |
Format: | Thesis |
Language: | English |
Published: |
2017
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/1813/47820 http://dissertations.umi.com/cornellgrad:10013 https://doi.org/10.7298/X4G44N8Z |
id |
ftcornelluniv:oai:ecommons.cornell.edu:1813/47820 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftcornelluniv:oai:ecommons.cornell.edu:1813/47820 2023-07-30T04:02:02+02:00 IMPACTS OF CLIMATE-ASSOCIATED CHANGES IN PREY AVAILABILITY ON NORTH ATLANTIC RIGHT WHALE POPULATION DYNAMICS Meyer-Gutbrod, Erin L Greene, Charles H Monger, Bruce C Sullivan, Patrick J Clark, Christopher W 2017-01-30 application/pdf https://hdl.handle.net/1813/47820 http://dissertations.umi.com/cornellgrad:10013 https://doi.org/10.7298/X4G44N8Z en_US eng MeyerGutbrod_cornellgrad_0058F_10013 http://dissertations.umi.com/cornellgrad:10013 bibid: 9906067 https://hdl.handle.net/1813/47820 https://doi.org/10.7298/X4G44N8Z Ecology conservation matrix population models Demography right whale Wildlife conservation reproduction Climate change dissertation or thesis 2017 ftcornelluniv https://doi.org/10.7298/X4G44N8Z 2023-07-15T18:33:55Z Today’s oceans are undergoing rapid and unprecedented changes resulting from anthropogenic impacts. The North Atlantic right whale, one of the most endangered baleen whales with just over 500 animals remaining in the species, is one example of a species at risk resulting from human influence. Modern right whale research is focused on elevated mortality rates due to vessel collisions and fishing gear entanglement. Although understudied, depressed calving rates also contribute significantly to slow growth. Here we analyze the effect of climate-driven fluctuations in prey abundance on right whale reproductive dynamics since 1980. Calanus finmarchicus, the lipid-rich copepod that right whales prey on, were anomalously abundant in the 1980s and 2000s, while concentrations were low in the 1990s. These fluctuations in copepod abundance were driven remotely by freshwater pulses from the Arctic Ocean, and by changes in advective supply to the Gulf of Maine related to North Atlantic circulation patterns. Synchronized with the low prey regime, right whale calf production in the 1990s was depressed relative to the surrounding decades. In a series of matrix population models, physical variables tied to basin-scale oceanographic mechanisms, climate indices and Continuous Plankton Recorder-derived C. finmarchicus abundance anomalies were tested in the prediction of right whale calf births over the time series 1980-2007. While several lagged physical variables and the annual C. finmarchicus anomaly outcompeted the prey-independent calf prediction model, the best reproduction model was driven by a combination of bimonthly anomalies in sub-regions spanning the southern Gulf of Maine. The objectively-selected regions and seasons of prey anomalies driving the best reproduction model correspond well with known right whale feeding and breeding habits. Thesis Arctic Arctic Ocean baleen whales Calanus finmarchicus Climate change North Atlantic North Atlantic right whale Cornell University: eCommons@Cornell Arctic Arctic Ocean |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Cornell University: eCommons@Cornell |
op_collection_id |
ftcornelluniv |
language |
English |
topic |
Ecology conservation matrix population models Demography right whale Wildlife conservation reproduction Climate change |
spellingShingle |
Ecology conservation matrix population models Demography right whale Wildlife conservation reproduction Climate change Meyer-Gutbrod, Erin L IMPACTS OF CLIMATE-ASSOCIATED CHANGES IN PREY AVAILABILITY ON NORTH ATLANTIC RIGHT WHALE POPULATION DYNAMICS |
topic_facet |
Ecology conservation matrix population models Demography right whale Wildlife conservation reproduction Climate change |
description |
Today’s oceans are undergoing rapid and unprecedented changes resulting from anthropogenic impacts. The North Atlantic right whale, one of the most endangered baleen whales with just over 500 animals remaining in the species, is one example of a species at risk resulting from human influence. Modern right whale research is focused on elevated mortality rates due to vessel collisions and fishing gear entanglement. Although understudied, depressed calving rates also contribute significantly to slow growth. Here we analyze the effect of climate-driven fluctuations in prey abundance on right whale reproductive dynamics since 1980. Calanus finmarchicus, the lipid-rich copepod that right whales prey on, were anomalously abundant in the 1980s and 2000s, while concentrations were low in the 1990s. These fluctuations in copepod abundance were driven remotely by freshwater pulses from the Arctic Ocean, and by changes in advective supply to the Gulf of Maine related to North Atlantic circulation patterns. Synchronized with the low prey regime, right whale calf production in the 1990s was depressed relative to the surrounding decades. In a series of matrix population models, physical variables tied to basin-scale oceanographic mechanisms, climate indices and Continuous Plankton Recorder-derived C. finmarchicus abundance anomalies were tested in the prediction of right whale calf births over the time series 1980-2007. While several lagged physical variables and the annual C. finmarchicus anomaly outcompeted the prey-independent calf prediction model, the best reproduction model was driven by a combination of bimonthly anomalies in sub-regions spanning the southern Gulf of Maine. The objectively-selected regions and seasons of prey anomalies driving the best reproduction model correspond well with known right whale feeding and breeding habits. |
author2 |
Greene, Charles H Monger, Bruce C Sullivan, Patrick J Clark, Christopher W |
format |
Thesis |
author |
Meyer-Gutbrod, Erin L |
author_facet |
Meyer-Gutbrod, Erin L |
author_sort |
Meyer-Gutbrod, Erin L |
title |
IMPACTS OF CLIMATE-ASSOCIATED CHANGES IN PREY AVAILABILITY ON NORTH ATLANTIC RIGHT WHALE POPULATION DYNAMICS |
title_short |
IMPACTS OF CLIMATE-ASSOCIATED CHANGES IN PREY AVAILABILITY ON NORTH ATLANTIC RIGHT WHALE POPULATION DYNAMICS |
title_full |
IMPACTS OF CLIMATE-ASSOCIATED CHANGES IN PREY AVAILABILITY ON NORTH ATLANTIC RIGHT WHALE POPULATION DYNAMICS |
title_fullStr |
IMPACTS OF CLIMATE-ASSOCIATED CHANGES IN PREY AVAILABILITY ON NORTH ATLANTIC RIGHT WHALE POPULATION DYNAMICS |
title_full_unstemmed |
IMPACTS OF CLIMATE-ASSOCIATED CHANGES IN PREY AVAILABILITY ON NORTH ATLANTIC RIGHT WHALE POPULATION DYNAMICS |
title_sort |
impacts of climate-associated changes in prey availability on north atlantic right whale population dynamics |
publishDate |
2017 |
url |
https://hdl.handle.net/1813/47820 http://dissertations.umi.com/cornellgrad:10013 https://doi.org/10.7298/X4G44N8Z |
geographic |
Arctic Arctic Ocean |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Arctic Ocean |
genre |
Arctic Arctic Ocean baleen whales Calanus finmarchicus Climate change North Atlantic North Atlantic right whale |
genre_facet |
Arctic Arctic Ocean baleen whales Calanus finmarchicus Climate change North Atlantic North Atlantic right whale |
op_relation |
MeyerGutbrod_cornellgrad_0058F_10013 http://dissertations.umi.com/cornellgrad:10013 bibid: 9906067 https://hdl.handle.net/1813/47820 https://doi.org/10.7298/X4G44N8Z |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.7298/X4G44N8Z |
_version_ |
1772812757423357952 |