Species diversity of the whale community in the Antarctic

The impact of commercial exploitation of whales on species diversity in the Antarctic whale community has not yet been documented. I report a correlation between the lowest species diversity and the largest biomass in the high productivity region near the ice-edge. Species diversity was higher and constant in waters beyond 60 n miles (∼111 km) away from the ice-edge. Density and biomass showed the opposite trend. Species diversity increased with time in a part of the study area where large whales were depleted, but numbers are now recovering. This suggests that the whale community is moving toward a new balance of species composition during its recovery from past whaling impacts.