Climate change endangering blue whales - WWF
The main food source for Antarctic blue whales is under threat from the melting polar ice cap caused by climate change, wildlife campaigners have warned today.
The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) said if the decline of krill continued, it would seriously affect the entire ecosystem of the Southern Ocean and could lead to the extinction of the species.
Sea Ice provides a habitat for microscopic marine algae which are released in the summer when the ice melts and are fed upon by krill.
A series of studies have shown that as the temperature has increased in recent decades, sea ice has diminished rapidly and food supplies are getting scarce. A 2001 study published by the Royal Society came to a similar conclusion, said WWF.
Its authors analysed data on krill-eating predators at South Georgia from 1980 to 2000, and found that population size and reproductive performance were declining in all species.
They concluded that ‘‘the biomass of krill was sufficient to support predator demand in the 1980s, but not in the 1990s’’ and that ‘‘the demand for krill exceeds supply’’.
The findings come as two world conferences - on the future of climate change in Bonn and the future of the whales in London - are under way.
Stuart Chapman, whale specialist for WWF, said: ‘‘The world’s largest problem could mean extinction in the Antarctic for the world’s largest animal.’’
The Blue Whale population in the Antarctic was drastically reduced by commercial whaling, from 250,000 a century ago to probably below 1,000 today.
It has shown no signs of recovery since blue whales were officially protected from whaling more than 35 years ago.
Despite the ban on hunting Blue Whales since 1965, some whaling continued until the 1970s by Soviet factory ships. In 1994 it came to light that 1,433 blue whales had been killed since the ban and the Soviets had falsified their records, reporting a catch of 156.
Since then, there is no evidence that their numbers have started to recover and any slight impact on their numbers could mean extinction in the Southern Ocean.
Mr Chapman said: ‘‘It would be a catastrophe for the natural world if the decline of the blue whale was accelerated by new commercial pressures. It would be the final nail in the coffin.’’
