Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41673062›Full record

ArticleScientific reports2026

Climate-driven reproductive decline in Southern right whales.

Claire Charlton, Matthew Germishuizen, Bridgette O'Shannessy, Robert McCauley, Els Vermeulen, Elisa Seyboth, Robert L Brownell, Stephen Burnell

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Scientific reports, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Claire CharltonCurtin University Centre for Marine Science and Technology, Bentley, Western, Australia. claire@currentenvironmental.net.
Matthew GermishuizenMammal Research Institute Whale Unit, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa.
Bridgette O'ShannessyCurrent Environmental Pty. Ltd, Perth, Australia.
Robert McCauleyCurtin University Centre for Marine Science and Technology, Bentley, Western, Australia.
Els VermeulenMammal Research Institute Whale Unit, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa.
Elisa SeybothMammal Research Institute Whale Unit, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa.
Robert L BrownellNOAA Fisheries, Southwest Fisheries Science Center, La Jolla, CA, USA.
Stephen BurnellOceans Institute, University of Western Australia, Nedlands, Western, Australia.

Funding

Minderoo Foundation MF-296804
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Reproductive success and abundance trends in migratory baleen whales are linked to body condition and foraging success, making them vulnerable to changes in prey availability which is influenced by climate variation. Southern right whales (Eubalaena australis), a sentinel species for climate change, offer critical insight into Southern Ocean health. Using over three decades (1991–2024) of photo-identification data collected in southwest Australia, we document a significant decline in reproductive output driving a slowed rate of population increase in the last decade. Cross-correlation and principal component analyses reveal that prolonged calving intervals coincide with declining Antarctic Sea ice concentration, persistent positive Antarctic Oscillation, and increases in surface chlorophyll-a, signalling broader ecosystem shifts. These findings add to global evidence of the sensitivity of southern right whales to climate variability in their offshore foraging grounds. This reproductive decline represents a threshold warning for the species and highlights the need for coordinated conservation efforts in the Southern Ocean, in the face of anthropogenic climate change.

Indexed as

Climate ChangeReproductionWhalesAnimal MigrationAnimalsAntarctic RegionsAustraliaEcosystemIce CoverPopulation DynamicsAntarctic oscillation, conservation actionBaleen whaleCalving intervalClimate changeSea iceSouthern ocean

Identifiers

PMID41673062
PMCPMC12894980

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.