North Atlantic Right Whale
With roughly 350 individuals remaining, North Atlantic Right Whales have become critically endangered and are currently on the brink of extinction.
Less than 25% of these individuals are females of breeding age and their birthing numbers have gone down significantly over recent years. Scientists believe this has a lot to do with the trauma they endure caused by entanglement as well as not being able to sustain a healthy pregnancy due to the current distribution of their prey. In recent years the amount of deaths has outweighed births within this species.
“When they can’t build those thick layers of blubber, they’re not able to successfully get pregnant, carry the pregnancy and nurse the calf,” explained Erin Meyer-Gutbrod, an author of the study and a marine ecologist at the University of South Carolina.
Climate change has brought on immense challenges for the North Atlantic Right Whale. The organisms they feed on, zooplankton and krill, thrive in colder waters. The place these whales are known to primarily feed, the Gulf of Maine, has been warming quicker than 99% the rest of the ocean which has caused their food source to relocate.
Examination of the impact climate change has had on this species gives the perfect example of potential consequences that will immediately affect the planet and the rest of its inhabitants.
The loss of smaller and less impactful species is still hurtful to the environment, but not nearly as detrimental as the loss of a large whale species could be.
Due to the small amount of North Atlantic Right Whales left, scientists can easily identify their carcasses when they’re found. “Right whales are one of the best studied, best understood populations in the ocean. We basically know every individual. It’s very rare that you can study a population where you know everybody,” said Charles Greene, a faculty fellow at the Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability. Each right whale has its own name and personality, and scientists know them very well. These whales have even been given names such as Tux and Popcorn!
The North Atlantic Right Whale is the second largest animal on earth and incredibly important to the health of our oceans. Losing this amazing animal would be detrimental to our environment.
Photo credit: NOAA
Habitat: East coast of North America from New England & Canada to Florida. They’re mostly found along the continental shelf in the Atlantic Ocean, but have been documented traveling into deeper waters.
Diet: North Atlantic Right Whales are baleen whales meaning they filter feed on Copepods, Krill, and Zooplankton.
Threats to Survival: Climate change has caused their food source to move to different areas of the ocean and surprisingly “Most of the warming in the Gulf of Maine is not coming from the atmosphere or ocean surface, as one may think. It is coming from invading slope water many hundreds of feet below the ocean surface, forcing the right whales to abandon their traditional habitat,” says Charles Greene, professor emeritus in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell University.
In pursuit of their prey, they’ve become subject to injuries caused by boat propellers and entanglements in fishing gear which have been the main causes of death for the this whale.It is estimated that over 85% of this small population of whales have been entangled in fishing gear at least once according to the markings that have been documented on each individual. Additionally, their habitat and migration routes are close to major ports along the Atlantic coastline and often overlap with shipping lanes. Vessel strikes and entanglement are preventable. These whales come near the shore often, making them exceptionally vulnerable to these threats.
If incredible change is not introduced and speed limits continue to be ignored and unenforced, we will see the first large whale extinction of the century.
Ocean noise affects this species as well and it has increased significantly in the Northwest Atlantic. Human activities such as construction, shipping, and seismic airgun blasting (a process used to search for oil and gas deep below the seafloor crating one of the loudest human-made sounds in the ocean) interfere with this whale's communication techniques making it even harder to find mates. It also reduces their ability to navigate properly to avoid human hazards and identify their surroundings.
Many North Atlantic Right Whales suffer from vessels strikes. Most lose their lives while others are left with propeller scars.
Photo credit: NOAA
This graphic gives you a visual reference of why fishing gear is so detrimental to this species. Since North Atlantic Right Whales often get close to the coast, they are vulnerable to lobster and crab catching techniques. This type of fishing gear starts at the surface of the water and reaches down to the sea floor for extended periods of time.
Photo credit: NOAA
What role do they play in their ecosystem?
Whales of all species contribute to the ocean’s ability to absorb carbon pollution by fertilizing phytoplankton. Whales’ fecal plumes are very dense in the nutrients that phytoplankton need to thrive. Phytoplankton are so important for our world’s collective environment because they absorb 40% of all carbon dioxide and produce 50% of the world’s oxygen. Whales also absorb carbon and when they die and sink to the bottom of the ocean, all the carbon they absorbed goes with them and is slowly released over time. 145,000 tons of carbon are transferred to the sea floor every year by whale carcasses. These carcasses also serve as a habitat and food source for other animals and more than 200 species will inhabit a skeleton during the final stage of decomposition!
How can you help?
Report North Atlantic Right Whale sightings (this species has stocky black bodies and most of them sport irregularly shaped white patches on their bellies). Report all right whale sightings from Virginia to Maine at (866) 755-6622 and from Florida to North Carolina at 877-WHALE-HELP (877) 942-5343). Right whale sightings in any location may also be reported to the U.S. Coast Guard via channel 16.
Stay 500 yards away if spotted and depart immediately at a slow speed.
Report a whale that is entangled, injured, or dead to ensure appropriate responders and scientists know about it and can take action. NOAA Fisheries Southeast Marine Mammal Stranding Hotline Phone: (877) WHALE-HELP (877-942-5343)
Bibliography
“North Atlantic Right Whale.” National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/north-atlantic-right-whale. Accessed 5 September 2021.
“North Atlantic Right Whales.” Sailors of the Sea, https://www.sailorsforthesea.org/programs/campaigns/north-atlantic-right-whales. Accessed 5 September 2021.
Sophia Ly. “3 Ways North Atlantic Right Whales Help Solve Climate Change.” Conservation Law Foundation, https://www.clf.org/blog/3-ways-right-whales-help-solve-climate-change/. Accessed 5 September 2021.
Vicki James, Regina Asmutis-Silvia, Fabian Ritter, Vanesa Reyes, Miguel Iñíguez and Astrid Fuchs. “Whales - Their Future is Our Future.” Whale and Dolphin Conservation, 2017, https://whales.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/ew_report_finalsm.pdf. Accessed 5 September 2021.
Hallie Golden. “North Atlantic right whales critically endangered by climate crisis, new study finds”. The Guardian, 3 September 2021, https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/sep/03/north-atlantic-right-whales-critically-endangered-climate-crisis-study. Accessed 5 September 2021.
Blaine Friedlander. “Warming Atlantic forces whales into new habitats, danger”. Cornell Chronicle, 1 September 2021, https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2021/09/warming-atlantic-forces-whales-new-habitats-danger. Accessed 5 September 2021.
