Science in Support of Policy
Research
Research under the Humpback Whale Sentinel Program focuses on three, non-linear and overlapping research components.
1) Development and validation of novel chemical and biochemical biomarker techniques for the quantification of Program Sentinel Parameters, paved the way for implementation of the HWSP. Our capacity and expertise in this area continues to deliver new insight into the ecology and trophodynamics of humpback whales and their prey.
2) Long-term monitoring of Program sentinel parameters allows us to ‘signpost’ Antarctic regions and timepoints that have resulted in anomalous biomarker signatures.
3) These ‘signpost’ further guide ecosystem investigations into key underlying bio-physical parameters driving observed patterns. Such investigations are critical for furthering mechanistic understanding of climate-driven ecosystem shifts.
Policy Advocacy
CEMP protocols support Antarctic environmental management and policy by documenting Antarctic sea-ice ecosystem trends and processes. The HWSP captures such trends through systematic measurements of chemical and biochemical tracers in the tissues of migrating humpback whales, dependent consumers of the Antarctic sea-ice ecosystem.
Long-term monitoring of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) and emerging Persistent and Mobile Organic Chemicals (PMOCs) in the blubber of Antarctic foraging humpback whales, further supports global and Antarctic chemical policy needs by documenting pollution trends, and the appearance of new chemical structures. The appearance of e.g. agricultural chemicals in Antarctica provides direct evidence of chemical persistence and long range environmental transport capability, two key risk criteria for categorisation of a POP under the Stockholm Convention.