Whales born after 2000 were significantly shorter than those born during the 20th century, the researchers found.
Gray whales that spend their summers feeding in the shallow waters off the Pacific Northwest coast have undergone a significant decline in body length since around the year 2000, a new Oregon State University study found. Lab at Oregon State University's Marine Mammal Institute)relied on drone imagery collected off the coast of central Oregon between 2016 and 2022.
But whales born after 2000 were significantly shorter than those born during the 20th century, the researchers found, with a whale born after 2000 likely to reach a maximum length about 5 feet, 4 inches shorter than that of a whale born before 2000. The decline has been greater in females, which are now comparable in length to males.
The length differences do not appear to be inherited, suggesting an environmental cause, the researchers said. However, the exact mechanism driving the shift is unclear. “In general, size is critical for animals,” Enrico Pirotta, lead author of the study and a researcher at the University of St Andrews, said in a. “It affects their behavior, their physiology, their life history, and it has cascading effects for the animals and for the community they’re a part of.” The whales’ reproductive success and ability to adjust to environmental changes could be affected, the researchers noted.
Overall, they concluded, the study is more evidence that large marine predators are becoming smaller over time. Future research should test the potential effects of different climate conditions and see declining average size as a possible warning sign for other problems such as population declines and issues within the whales’ food chain, they added.
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