Climate Change and Marine Mammals: Migratory Species Convention Releases New Report
The Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) has released the findings of a major workshop, which detail how climate change disruption is affecting migratory species across the world.
Held February 11–13, 2025, in Edinburgh, Scotland, the Migratory Species & Climate Change Expert Workshop gathered together 73 leading international experts, including scientists, wildlife managers and representatives of intergovernmental agencies.
OceanCare’s Senior Science Officer Laetitia Nunny and Mark Simmonds, OceanCare Director of Science, were among the experts who took part in the workshop.
Whales and Dolphins Under Increasing Climate Pressure
Whales are at risk again. Climate change is altering whale migrations, shrinking prey populations, and reducing reproduction. North Atlantic right whales are especially vulnerable, with warming seas forcing dangerous detours through heavily trafficked shipping lanes.
Further Key Findings on Marine Species and Climate Change:
- Himalayan species face an altitude squeeze. Cold-adapted wildlife such as musk deer, pheasants, and snow trout is being pushed upwards into smaller, fragmented refugia, with some small mammals projected to lose over 50% of their range.
- Heatwaves are hitting waters from river to sea. In 2023, an Amazon River heatwave reached 41 °C, killing river dolphins and also causing prey loss, while in the Mediterranean, marine heat extremes are projected to cut fin whale habitat by up to 70% by mid-century and shrink dolphin ranges amid food loss and pollution stress.
- Seagrass sinks are under siege. Storing nearly 20% of the world’s oceanic carbon, supporting coastal resilience, sustaining fisheries and species like dugongs and sea turtles, seagrass meadows are being damaged by marine heatwaves, cyclones, and sea-level rise.
Solutions Exist and Are Being Implemented
To mark the report’s launch, Mark Simmonds teamed up with Professor Des Thompson, the CMS CoP-appointed Scientific Councilor for Climate Change, to produce a blog about the new and growing risks to whales and dolphins. This blog was published on the website of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.