Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 18, 2026

Using Generative Art to Convey Past and Future Climate Transitions
Published on: March 31, 2023
Global climate drives southern right whale (Eubalaena australis) population dynamics
Russell Leaper1, Justin Cooke, Phil Trathan
1International Fund for Animal Welfare, 87-90 Albert Embankment, London 1 7UD, UK. russell@ivyt.demon.co.uk
Abstract:
Sea surface temperature (SST) time-series from the southwest Atlantic and the El Niño 4 region in the western Pacific were compared to an index of annual calving success of the southern right whale (Eubalaena australis) breeding in Argentina. There was a strong relationship between right whale calving output and SST anomalies at South Georgia in the autumn of the previous year and also with mean El Niño 4 SST anomalies delayed by 6 years. These results extend similar observations from other krill predators and show clear linkages between global climate signals and the biological processes affecting whale population dynamics.
Related Concept Videos
Global Climate Change
Population Growth
What is Climate?
Speciation Rates
Conservation of Declining Populations
Threats to Biodiversity

