Editorial: Whales and climate

Abstract

Editorial on the Research Topic Whales and climate BackgroundBaleen whales have exhibited alterations from their traditional migration, breeding, and feeding patterns in recent years (Ramp et al., 2015;Moore et al., 2019). Climate change is recognised as a key factor driving these shifts, leading to concerns about the recovery of whale populations. Whales face heightened vulnerability due to their extensive seasonal migrations, exposure to extreme climatic conditions from polar feeding grounds to tropical breeding grounds within a few months each year, low reproduction rates and long lifespans (Tyack, 1986;Corkeron and Connor, 1999). The future population recovery of all baleen whales is intricately tied to climate change and its impact on their feeding and breeding habitats (Thomas et al., 2016;Tulloch et al., 2019) (Figure 1).The objective of the Whales and Climate topic was to contribute research that enhances the understanding of the intricate relationship between baleen whales and climate change. Climate impacts on the marine environment are inherently complex, marked by uncertainty, time lags, non-linearities, and a multitude of pathways, obscuring cause-and-effect relationships. The topic provided a platform to help quantify the interactions between climate change and mysticeti. It illuminated how past, present, and future climate conditions influence various aspects of the whales' life cycle, including breeding, feeding, and migration, as well as their overall recovery from whaling. Additionally, the Whales and Climate topic aimed to assess the relative vulnerability of different whale populations and species to the effects of climate change. By defining impacts and potential relationships with climate conditions, we aspired to advance modeling approaches and promote the integration of future climate projections into research on whales and climate.The research of the 13 papers included in this Research Topic investigated body conditions, changes in migration timing, species distribution and abundance, relationships with environmental factors and the potential role of whales in carbon sequestration.