Chapter 17 - Social Creatures in a Changing Sea: Concluding Remarks

Abstract

A recent long-term ecological “top–down” study of deep-water cetaceans indicates that species diversity tracks closely with surface temperature, and loss of diversity is predicted, especially for the tropics. Such studies may give a better insight on large-scale effects of climate change, including on dusky dolphins of Patagonia, but even if one has a better grasp of potential and realized effects, solving the global climate change conundrum will be a hard task indeed. Dusky dolphins are adaptable social predators that need to factor in their own vulnerabilities as potential prey to survive, unlike “top” predators such as lions, killer whales, and sperm whales. Dusky dolphins have a fission–fusion society whereby dolphins “easily” split (or fission) into (sub)groups of one dozen or fewer animals, as nursery groups, mating groups, mixed age and sex groups, and foraging groups. Being currently in the unhappy midst of a major and frighteningly rapid global climate change, with concomitant increase in water temperatures and acidity, and loss of biodiversity in many parts of the ocean, it is not enough to merely assume that marine inhabitants, including dolphins, can move to areas of better resources, as niches are not so easily exchanged, and potentially cultural habits of certain areas for feeding, hiding from predators, calving/nursing, etc., are not easily given up.