The different troubling sign the researchers discovered within the tusks hinted on the whales’ altering meals sources. They regarded for steady isotopes of carbon and nitrogen, residues of narwhals’ eating regimen that linger of their tusks. Carbon reveals details about the prey’s habitat, as an illustration if it lived within the open ocean or nearer to land. Nitrogen tells you its trophic stage, or the place within the meals chain it was. “Together, they give you an idea of the overall foraging ecology of the species,” says Desforges.
As with mercury, Desforges may map how this eating regimen modified over time. Prior to 1990, the whales had been feeding on “sympagic” prey related to icy habitat—Arctic cod and halibut. Then their eating regimen started to shift towards extra “pelagic,” or open-ocean, prey like capelin, a member of the smelt household. “We’re not looking at actual stomach contents of prey or anything,” says Desforges. “But we are essentially arguing that this temporal pattern matches extremely well with what we know about sea ice extent in the Arctic, which after 1990 starts dropping pretty dramatically.”
As sea ice has diminished, narwhals have shifted their diets. At the identical time, mercury ranges (Hg) have been on the rise.
Courtesy of Jean-Pierre DesforgesA few issues could possibly be occurring. As the ocean ice retreats within the Arctic, the ecosystems under it could be reshuffling, resulting in inhabitants declines amongst Arctic cod and halibut. In that case, the narwhals must flip to searching open-ocean species to make up their dietary deficit. On the opposite hand, these populations of cod and halibut might not essentially be declining, however merely shifting north. Or it could possibly be that as Arctic waters heat, extra capelin are round, and the narwhals aren’t about to go up an ample meal.
But if fish is a fish, why would it not matter what the narwhals are consuming, as long as they’re getting sufficient meals? It seems that not all fish are created equal. “Arctic species are more nutritious, energy-wise,” says Desforges. To survive the chilly, fish must pack on fats, which suggests extra energy for the predators that feed on them, like narwhals. “If they’re shifting prey to less Arctic species, that could be having an effect on their energy level intakes,” Desforges provides. “Whether that is true is yet to be seen, but it’s certainly the big question that we need to start asking themselves.”
This dietary reshuffling—which can or will not be a downside for the narwhal—may collide with rising mercury ranges, which are a downside for any animal. These two threats may transform extra problematic mixed than they’re alone. “That’s the tricky part,” says Desforges. “We essentially have data that suggests that things are changing, but we really don’t have an idea of how that’s impacting the whales here.”
