Whale recovery and the emerging human-wildlife conflict over Antarctic krill
Abstract The Southern Ocean ecosystem has undergone extensive changes in the past two centuries driven by industrial sealing and whaling, climate change and commercial fishing. However, following the end of commercial whaling, some populations of whales in this region are recovering. Baleen whales a...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:08d2955f941c4e3dad325a1bbdd8af13 2024-09-30T14:24:20+00:00 Whale recovery and the emerging human-wildlife conflict over Antarctic krill Matthew S. Savoca Mehr Kumar Zephyr Sylvester Max F. Czapanskiy Bettina Meyer Jeremy A. Goldbogen Cassandra M. Brooks 2024-09-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-51954-x https://doaj.org/article/08d2955f941c4e3dad325a1bbdd8af13 EN eng Nature Portfolio https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-51954-x https://doaj.org/toc/2041-1723 doi:10.1038/s41467-024-51954-x 2041-1723 https://doaj.org/article/08d2955f941c4e3dad325a1bbdd8af13 Nature Communications, Vol 15, Iss 1, Pp 1-10 (2024) Science Q article 2024 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-51954-x 2024-09-17T16:00:43Z Abstract The Southern Ocean ecosystem has undergone extensive changes in the past two centuries driven by industrial sealing and whaling, climate change and commercial fishing. However, following the end of commercial whaling, some populations of whales in this region are recovering. Baleen whales are reliant on Antarctic krill, which is also the largest Southern Ocean fishery. Since 1993, krill catch has increased fourfold, buoyed by nutritional supplement and aquaculture industries. In this Perspective, we approximate baleen whale consumption of Antarctic krill before and after whaling to examine if the ecosystem can support both humans and whales as krill predators. Our back-of-the-envelope calculations suggest that current krill biomass cannot support both an expanding krill fishery and the recovery of whale populations to pre-whaling sizes, highlighting an emerging human-wildlife conflict. We then provide recommendations for enhancing sustainability in this region by reducing encounters with whales and bolstering the krill population. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Krill baleen whale baleen whales Southern Ocean Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Antarctic Southern Ocean Nature Communications 15 1 |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
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English |
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Science Q |
spellingShingle |
Science Q Matthew S. Savoca Mehr Kumar Zephyr Sylvester Max F. Czapanskiy Bettina Meyer Jeremy A. Goldbogen Cassandra M. Brooks Whale recovery and the emerging human-wildlife conflict over Antarctic krill |
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Science Q |
description |
Abstract The Southern Ocean ecosystem has undergone extensive changes in the past two centuries driven by industrial sealing and whaling, climate change and commercial fishing. However, following the end of commercial whaling, some populations of whales in this region are recovering. Baleen whales are reliant on Antarctic krill, which is also the largest Southern Ocean fishery. Since 1993, krill catch has increased fourfold, buoyed by nutritional supplement and aquaculture industries. In this Perspective, we approximate baleen whale consumption of Antarctic krill before and after whaling to examine if the ecosystem can support both humans and whales as krill predators. Our back-of-the-envelope calculations suggest that current krill biomass cannot support both an expanding krill fishery and the recovery of whale populations to pre-whaling sizes, highlighting an emerging human-wildlife conflict. We then provide recommendations for enhancing sustainability in this region by reducing encounters with whales and bolstering the krill population. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Matthew S. Savoca Mehr Kumar Zephyr Sylvester Max F. Czapanskiy Bettina Meyer Jeremy A. Goldbogen Cassandra M. Brooks |
author_facet |
Matthew S. Savoca Mehr Kumar Zephyr Sylvester Max F. Czapanskiy Bettina Meyer Jeremy A. Goldbogen Cassandra M. Brooks |
author_sort |
Matthew S. Savoca |
title |
Whale recovery and the emerging human-wildlife conflict over Antarctic krill |
title_short |
Whale recovery and the emerging human-wildlife conflict over Antarctic krill |
title_full |
Whale recovery and the emerging human-wildlife conflict over Antarctic krill |
title_fullStr |
Whale recovery and the emerging human-wildlife conflict over Antarctic krill |
title_full_unstemmed |
Whale recovery and the emerging human-wildlife conflict over Antarctic krill |
title_sort |
whale recovery and the emerging human-wildlife conflict over antarctic krill |
publisher |
Nature Portfolio |
publishDate |
2024 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-51954-x https://doaj.org/article/08d2955f941c4e3dad325a1bbdd8af13 |
geographic |
Antarctic Southern Ocean |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Southern Ocean |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Krill baleen whale baleen whales Southern Ocean |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Krill baleen whale baleen whales Southern Ocean |
op_source |
Nature Communications, Vol 15, Iss 1, Pp 1-10 (2024) |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-51954-x https://doaj.org/toc/2041-1723 doi:10.1038/s41467-024-51954-x 2041-1723 https://doaj.org/article/08d2955f941c4e3dad325a1bbdd8af13 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-51954-x |
container_title |
Nature Communications |
container_volume |
15 |
container_issue |
1 |
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1811640642573434880 |