Editorial: Whales and climate

• Published in: Frontiers in Marine Science
• Main Authors: Meynecke, Jan-Olaf, Derville, Solène, Richards, Russell
• Other Authors: Ecologie marine tropicale des océans Pacifique et Indien (ENTROPIE Nouvelle-Calédonie ), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD Nouvelle-Calédonie )-Délégation Ifremer de Nouvelle-Calédonie, Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer (IFREMER)-Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer (IFREMER)-Université de la Nouvelle-Calédonie (UNC)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2023
• Subjects: [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology; baleen whales
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-04419619; https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2023.1347360

International audience The objective of the Whales and Climate topic was to contribute research that enhances the understanding of the intricate relationship between baleen whales and climate change. Climate impacts on the marine environment are inherently complex, marked by uncertainty, time lags, non-linearities, and a multitude of pathways, obscuring cause-and-effect relationships. The topic provided a platform to help quantify the interactions between climate change and mysticeti. It illuminated how past, present, and future climate conditions influence various aspects of the whales’ life cycle, including breeding, feeding, and migration, as well as their overall recovery from whaling. Additionally, the Whales and Climate topic aimed to assess the relative vulnerability of different whale populations and species to the effects of climate change. By defining impacts and potential relationships with climate conditions, we aspired to advance modeling approaches and promote the integration of future climate projections into research on whales and climate.The research of the 13 papers included in this Research Topic investigated body conditions, changes in migration timing, species distribution and abundance, relationships with environmental factors and the potential role of whales in carbon sequestration.