PORTLAND, Maine—Whales, dolphins and seals living in US waters face major threats from warming ocean temperatures, rising sea levels and decreasing sea ice volumes associated with climate change, according to a first-of-its-kind assessment.
The news is bleak, but the assessment also is the first to look solely at marine mammal stocks managed by the US and the results can help inform federal ocean managers about how to safeguard the vulnerable animals, said Matthew Lettrich, a biologist and lead author of the study. The scientists looked at the animals’ degree of exposure to climate change and sensitivity and capacity to adapt to it. They found 72 percent of the stocks were highly or very highly vulnerable to climate change, with a little less than half falling in the “very high” category.
The whales will benefit from the study if the information is used to implement laws protecting them, Asmutis-Silvia said. But the way climate change affects the giant animals is global in nature, so the broader approach is helpful, she said. Many also migrate across international boundaries, which could require new kinds of cooperation between countries. That is true of seals with large populations in the US and Canada, such as the gray seal, the study says.