课题组研究人员发现，一个标志性的、高度移动的极地相关物种的种群动态与北极猎物的可用性和进入觅食区域的途径密切相关。当低猎物生物量与高冰盖同时发生时，灰鲸经历了重大的死亡事件，每次都会使种群减少15%到25%。这表明，随着北极变暖，即使是移动的、长寿的物种也对动态和不断变化的环境很敏感。
据悉，气候变化正在影响广泛的全球系统，其中极地生态系统的变化最为迅速。尽管气候影响最直接地影响低营养水平和短命物种，但尚不清楚长寿和流动物种将如何应对快速的极地变暖，因为它们可能在适应新条件的同时具有适应生态破坏的短期能力。
附：英文原文
Title: Boom-bust cycles in gray whales associated with dynamic and changing Arctic conditions
Author: Joshua D. Stewart, Trevor W. Joyce, John W. Durban, John Calambokidis, Deborah Fauquier, Holly Fearnbach, Jacqueline M. Grebmeier, Morgan Lynn, Manfredi Manizza, Wayne L. Perryman, M. Tim Tinker, David W. Weller
Issue&Volume: 2023-10-13
Abstract: Climate change is affecting a wide range of global systems, with polar ecosystems experiencing the most rapid change. Although climate impacts affect lower-trophic-level and short-lived species most directly, it is less clear how long-lived and mobile species will respond to rapid polar warming because they may have the short-term ability to accommodate ecological disruptions while adapting to new conditions. We found that the population dynamics of an iconic and highly mobile polar-associated species are tightly coupled to Arctic prey availability and access to feeding areas. When low prey biomass coincided with high ice cover, gray whales experienced major mortality events, each reducing the population by 15 to 25%. This suggests that even mobile, long-lived species are sensitive to dynamic and changing conditions as the Arctic warms.
DOI: adi1847
Source: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adi1847