"Whales as marine ecosystem engineers" by Joe Roman, James A. Estes et al.

Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources Faculty Publications

Title

Authors

Joe Roman, University of Vermont
James A. Estes, University of California, Santa Cruz
Lyne Morissette
Craig Smith, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Daniel Costa, University of California, Santa Cruz
James McCarthy, Harvard University
J. B. Nation, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Stephen Nicol, Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies
Andrew Pershing, University of Maine
Victor Smetacek, Alfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-1-2014

Abstract

Baleen and sperm whales, known collectively as the great whales, include the largest animals in the history of life on Earth. With high metabolic demands and large populations, whales probably had a strong influence on marine ecosystems before the advent of industrial whaling: as consumers of fish and invertebrates; as prey to other large-bodied predators; as reservoirs of and vertical and horizontal vectors for nutrients; and as detrital sources of energy and habitat in the deep sea. The decline in great whale numbers, estimated to be at least 66% and perhaps as high as 90%, has likely altered the structure and function of the oceans, but recovery is possible and in many cases is already underway. Future changes in the structure and function of the world's oceans can be expected with the restoration of great whale populations.

Rights Information

Recommended Citation

Roman J, Estes JA, Morissette L, Smith C, Costa D, McCarthy J, Nation JB, Nicol S, Pershing A, Smetacek V. Whales as marine ecosystem engineers. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. 2014 Sep;12(7):377-85.