Monday 17 June 2024
Islamabad (Urdu Point. DW Urdu. June 17, 2024) The decline in body size is raising serious concerns about the survival and possible population decline of gray whales. Researchers fear that climate change is affecting the balance of the ocean, affecting the whales' diet and overall health.
The need for attention to the threat of extinction
The study specifically examined the 'Pacific Coast Feeding Group'.
Whales in this group are significantly smaller than the larger population in the northeast Pacific and forage in warmer waters near the coast.
These beached whales were in a more precarious position in the past. Compared to whales in the deep sea, their bodies and heads had become smaller.
The researchers analyzed drone footage taken between 2016 and 2022 and focused on 130 whales whose ages were either known or estimated.
The results of the research were alarming. A gray whale born in 2020 is about 1.65 meters or about five and a half feet shorter than a whale born in 2000.
This means that the total length of adult gray whales has decreased significantly by 13%. They are usually 38 to 41 feet in length.
It is also noteworthy that this reduction was more pronounced in female whales than in males.
Females used to be longer in length, but now they are almost equal to males.
Negative consequences of shrinking size
The downsides of downsizing are far-reaching. In general, the body length of animals plays an important role in their life and affects their lifestyle, physiology and life history.
The decline in gray whale size is expected to increase the mortality rate of their young and reduce the reproductive potential of adults.
These whales accumulate fat reserves in their bodies during the feeding season and rely on these reserves later. With the help of this fat, they are able to ensure their breeding during migration and winter.
Now their reproductive abilities may be affected by insufficient energy for breeding. For this reason, their population growth may be threatened.
Climate Change and the 'Food Web'
The study identified a link between the shrinking size of whales and the tides. As seawater approaches the coast, it brings nutrients from deeper waters to the surface. This process is the primary food source for gray whales.
However, now the entire tidal process is being affected due to climate change.
In addition, changing temperatures are also affecting the 'food web' of whales.
Urgent measures required
This trend of gray whales' declining size underscores the urgent need to address climate change and its wider impacts on marine ecosystems.
Because of the threats to the survival of these giant creatures, the researchers say, there is an urgent and urgent need for a multi-pronged action plan to reduce at least the human-caused threats.
