Climate change is threatening all of the ocean's migratory species

Climate change is negatively impacting migratory species across the board, a new report has warned this week, altering the ranges, shrinking the habitats, and threatening the ecosystems across which all migratory species occupy throughout their lifecycles.

Confirming long-held understandings about the effects of global warming, extreme weather events, and shifting water systems; findings from a major workshop conducted by the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals has concluded that all migratory species are now at risk.

Unsurprisingly, whales are at risk again with climate change found to be altering whale migrations, shrinking their prey, and negatively impacting upon reproduction rates. The report highlights that among them, it is the North Atlantic right whale that is ‘especially vulnerable’, a species now being forced to make migratory detours into dangerous pockets of the ocean – all driven by warming seas.

Migratory species serve as critical links in the ecosystems that sustain life on Earth. From forest elephants that contribute to carbon storage capacity in the jungles, to whales that transport essential nutrients across ocean basins – migratory species are vital in maintaining healthy ecosystems that are resilient and contribute to climate change mitigation.

However, because such species rely on habitats that span continents and seasons, environmental changes in one region can trigger cascading effects thousands of miles away, under-scoring the global nature of conservation challenges.

Seagrass meadows, for example, store nearly 20% of the world’s oceanic carbon, supporting coastal resilience and sustaining fisheries and endangered and vulnerable species like dugongs and sea turtles. They are, however, being severely impacted by marine heatwaves, cyclones, and sea-level rise. Similar marine heatwaves are being felt in the Mediterranean, where fin whale habitats risk being cut by 70% by mid-century, shrinking dolphin ranges amid further crises they face such as food loss and pollution stress.