Gray Whales and Sea-Level Changes
Author Information
Author(s): Pyenson Nicholas D., Lindberg David R.
Primary Institution: National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution
Hypothesis
How did gray whales survive the ecological impacts of sea-level changes during the Pleistocene?
Conclusion
Gray whales likely survived the loss of their primary feeding grounds during glacial maxima by employing diverse feeding strategies.
Supporting Evidence
- Gray whales have survived multiple glacial-interglacial periods.
- Fluctuations in benthos availability do not falsify molecular estimates of gray whale carrying capacity.
- Gray whales likely maintained substantial population sizes by employing diverse feeding modes.
Takeaway
Gray whales are like big ocean vacuum cleaners that can eat different kinds of food. Even when their favorite food was gone during ice ages, they found other ways to eat and survive.
Methodology
The study reconstructed gray whale carrying capacity over the past 120,000 years by analyzing benthic feeding area availability using bathymetric data.
Limitations
The fossil record is poorly sampled, and much of the marginal marine rocks of Pleistocene age are inaccessible.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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