Brisbane: Humpback whales in Australia’s eastern waters were healthier during the first year of the coronavirus pandemic when human activity in the ocean was limited, new research has found.
The study, led by Dr Jake Linsk and a team of researchers from the University of Queensland, used samples from humpback whales in the waters off North Stradbroke Island in Brisbane. During the 2020 and 2021 migration, they study whale physiology, health and energy reserves.
The study found that humpback whales had lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol in 2021 compared to 2020, when human traffic at sea was restricted due to the pandemic.
Dr Jake said this could be due to a number of factors, including a reduction in noise pollution from merchant ships during the pandemic.
He also explained that sound is an important issue for whales because they use it to communicate and interact in large areas of water.
