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MARINE BIOLOGY

Climate shifts for krill predators

Nature Climate Change volume 10, pages 390–391 (2020)Cite this article

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Antarctic krill play a key role in Southern Ocean food webs but are vulnerable to climate change, with habitat shifts predicted in response. Now, a study of climate change impacts on a krill-specialist predator — the crabeater seal — suggests that this abundant marine mammal may be forced southwards with its prey.

Increasing ocean temperatures are driving many marine species in a poleward direction. This not only alters ecosystem function, but also creates significant challenges for human communities in coastal regions and for the management of fisheries6. The Arctic and the Southern Ocean are at the receiving end of these shifts, with climate driven range shifts into the Arctic region pronounced and well documented7. While the situation is less well understood for the Southern Ocean, there is evidence of recent climate-related range shifts for Gentoo and Chinstrap penguins, and Adelie penguin numbers have declined sharply8. Marine predators such as penguins, but also seals and flying seabirds (for example, albatross), are considered important as climate and ecosystem sentinels at a global scale because they are conspicuous and wide ranging, and integrate information from the bottom to the top of the food web9. Such species are also central in the ecosystem-based management approach for the Southern Ocean adopted by the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, which considers the indirect effects of harvesting krill and fish on dependent predators within the Articles of its Convention as well as in its management rules10.

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  1. CSIRO Oceans & Atmosphere, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia

    Jessica Melbourne-Thomas

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  1. Jessica Melbourne-Thomas
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Correspondence to Jessica Melbourne-Thomas.

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Melbourne-Thomas, J. Climate shifts for krill predators. Nat. Clim. Chang. 10, 390–391 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-020-0756-6

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