The Effects of El Nio and Global Climate Change on the Ecology of Whale Sharks,

Rhincodon typus
Lapman Hoi and Chen Li
Abstract
Whale sharks possess a niche that is defined as a pelagic filter-feeder residing in warm,
tropical waters. El Nio and global climate change create effects that alter their ecological
interactions, both directly and indirectly. During seasons of El Nio, the distribution of whale
sharks change as the temperature of ocean waters shift. In addition, the increase of rainfall on
land causes runoffs into the ocean that carry various chemicals, debris, and nutrients which
transforms the composition of the water, resulting in physiological changes of organisms that the
whale shark preys on. Global climate change also modifies the distribution of whale sharks as
water temperatures slowly rise, and the acidification of the ocean causes physiological stress on
organisms that the whale shark relies on for food, thereby affecting their ability to obtain energy
and nutrients needed to sustain themselves.
Introduction
The whale shark (Rhincodon typus) is the worlds largest fish and non-mammalian
vertebrate, and one of three remaining filter-feeding shark species. They can weigh on average
21.5 metric tons and measure about 12 meters across, with size discrepancies between the sexes;
females being slightly larger.
Within the marine ecosystem, whale sharks occupy a fundamental niche of pelagic filterfeeders, but have a realized niche of residing only in a narrow range of water temperatures due to
their intolerance of extreme temperatures shifts. They are primarily secondary consumers from
their main diet of zooplankton, but can occasionally be tertiary consumers due to opportunistic

feeding of small fishes and squid. Naturally, whale sharks do not have any predators because of
their large size. As a result of their sensitivity to water temperatures and the location of their food
supply, whale sharks are most often located in the epipelagic zone of tropical and temperate
oceans.
Because of their rarity and K-selected characteristics, not much is known about the
whale sharks remaining population size, migration pathways, or critical habitats such as
breeding grounds. Despite that, there are many sightings in areas such as Seychelles of East
Africa, Australia, and Mexico (Sequeira et al., 2013). Their mechanisms of reproduction remain
largely unknown, although recent studies have concluded that they are ovoviviparous and are
likely to perform sexual segregation in the Gulf of California (Ketchum et al., 2013). Many of
their fundamental physiological processes are still shrouded in mystery from lack of research by
scientists. In addition, whale sharks are regarded as a vulnerable species due to their reportedly
long lifespan, late maturation period, and constant threat of fishing from humans.
Although there is not much available information on the whale shark, the fact that they
are sensitive to temperature variations and primarily feed on zooplankton is well known. As a
result, much of the research will be focused on how El Nio and global climate change will
affect these characteristics, and ultimately their interactions with the Southern California marine
ecosystem as a whole.
Analysis of El Nio Impacts
Whale sharks typically reside in the waters of the Gulf of California, where temperatures
are appropriate for the organisms liking. Normally, the surface water temperature in the Gulf of
California averages to about 28 during September (Hernndez-Nava, 2013). Although they
can tolerate water as cold as 10, they seem to avoid high temperatures (Eckert and Stewart,

2001, Sequeira et al., 2013). El Nio transforms the normal temperatures in the area by
circulating in warmer waters from the eastern Pacific. Consequently, the temperatures around the
California and Mexican coasts increase from their normal average. Because of their sensitivity to
high temperature, the whale sharks begin leaving the Gulf of California that has become too
warm, and venture poleward along the Southern California coast which has become more
favorable. As a result, the whale shark is introduced to areas that they are normally not found in.
Because whale sharks are pelagic filter-feeders, they need to search for zooplankton as
their primary source of food. Since zooplankton feed on phytoplankton, high amounts of
phytoplankton generally correlates to zooplankton abundance. Phytoplankton around the waters
of Southern California are normally high in number because of the cold water that brings up
nutrients to the surface from upwelling (Lavaniegos et al., 2002). However, El Nio disrupts
these conditions by introducing warmer waters, which causes less upwelling of nutrients for the
phytoplankton to use. A deepened thermocline and salt barrier also enhance stratification, which
prevents surface water from mixing with deep water (Hallegraeff, 2010). Without enough
nutrients from deep waters, a chain reaction occurs as the phytoplankton decreases, which also
causes zooplankton numbers to drop. Although some warm-water zooplankton species increase
during the event, they generally contain less fat than cold-water zooplankton (Fisher et al.,
2015). The overall decrease in zooplankton biomass causes the whale shark to struggle in finding
food. Due to the whale sharks sensitivity to water temperature changes, they remain in these
warm waters despite it being low in zooplankton. As a result, they have to apply more effort in
obtaining a sufficient diet in most areas off the coast of California.
El Nio not only has a direct impact in changing the normal mechanisms of the ocean,
but also an indirect impact by changing water composition through runoff from the land. The

occurrence of El Nio often brings a large amount of rainfall to certain areas of land (Kudela and
Chavez, 2004). Since California is affected by El Nio, it is expected to receive above-average
rainfall than it is normally exposed to. As a result of the heavy rains while being adjacent to the
sea, various chemicals, debris, and nutrients can runoff and drain into the ocean, which can have
a profound effect on near-shore marine organisms. Macronutrients such as nitrogen and
phosphorus, or micronutrients such as copper and iron can enter the water in large amounts. With
an abundance of nutrients, phytoplankton can grow to extraordinarily large numbers and cause a
bloom. This also causes a surge in zooplankton despite the lack of nutrients provided by
upwelling. In a similar scenario that replicates the runoff effect from El Nio, agricultural
fertilizers were put into the waters of the San Francisco Bay with an amount that exceeded the
limiting concentration for phytoplankton development in order to promote population growth
(Cloern et al., 2007). Therefore, it seems reasonable to predict that the effect of runoff from the
land can counteract the phytoplankton reduction caused by the reduced upwelling from El Nio
in discrete areas along the coast, where zooplankton levels can remain high during the event.
These areas may attract whale sharks when they proceed to find suitable water temperatures.
Analysis of Global Climate Change
The effects of global climate change on whale sharks is very similar to that of El Nio.
Global warming has raised water temperatures, causing many whale sharks to migrate north. The
average global sea surface temperature has increased at least 0.25 since 1971 and more than
1.5 in some areas (Howes et al., 2015). Although the temperature does not rise as high as the
effects by El Nio, long term exposure of higher-than-normal temperatures may have a profound
influence on whale sharks due to their sensitivity to temperature shifts. The effects of increased
water temperatures on oceanographic conditions such as ocean currents on marine life is little

known. However, they may affect the growth and development, productivity, and phenology of
various pelagic species, including the whale shark (Chin et al., 2010).
Other influential effects of climate change on whale sharks are the changes in food
abundance and zooplankton distribution. Zooplankton are among the most sensitive creatures
and usually respond dramatically according to changes in their environment (Richardson, 2008).
The rise of sea water temperatures cause cold water zooplankton to move north, so the biomass
within the temperate zone where whale sharks normally live decreases. Warmer waters as a result
of global climate change also stabilizes ocean layers and decreases upwelling that normally
provides nutrients to phytoplankton in the thermocline range (Howes et al., 2015). In addition,
raised sea levels deepens the thermocline and strengthens stratification., making the upwelling of
nutrients even more difficult than normal. As a result, this decreases zooplankton numbers due
decreases in phytoplankton growth. The drop in oxygen levels caused by higher water
temperatures place further stress on the growth and development of both plankton species.
Lastly, ocean acidification has also made plankton which utilize calcium carbonate shells waste
more energy to maintain them. With all these negative effects and stresses on the plankton, the
food supply that whale sharks primarily rely on is compromised as a result.
Global climate change has also caused the deaths of many corals due to increased water
temperatures and ocean acidification have also indirectly affected the whale sharks ability to
find sources of food. Outside of phytoplankton, coral spawn are another major source of food for
zooplankton. As a result of increased water temperatures, coral bleaching occurs due to the
expulsion of symbiotic algae within the corals themselves (Hoegh-Guldberg et al., 2007). In
addition, ocean acidification has reduced pH levels within the water to levels low enough where
corals have trouble maintaining their calcium carbonate skeletons. Together, these algae and

skeletons provide a source of nutrition and structural habitat for the coral polyps to use, and
without them, they can be significantly weakened or killed. The rise in the mortality rate of
corals and the decrease of healthy living corals significantly reduces the potential for them to
create new spawn. Being a major source of food for zooplankton, decreased coral spawn means
that zooplankton numbers will decrease, and low zooplankton numbers also means the whale
sharks have more trouble finding food.
The summarized effect of climate change is the decrease of zooplankton numbers.
Overall, ocean animals such as whale sharks find themselves having difficulty in maintaining
their metabolic requirements by feeding on a smaller number of zooplankton.
Comparison of El Nio and Global Climate Change
Both El Nio and global climate change affects oceanographic conditions which then
affect marine species directly or indirectly. The two major factors discussed that influence the
ecology of whale sharks are the rise of water temperature and the change of food abundance. As
a pelagic filter-feeder, the environment of the whale shark has a profound influence on its
ecological niche. Both El Nio and global climate change force whale sharks to leave their
previous aggregation areas by raising sea surface temperatures. During El Nio years, the
decreased upwelling effect causes the number of zooplankton, which is their primary food
source, to drop. However, the large amount of rainfall leads to runoff from the land which brings
sufficient nutrients into the ocean and maintains the high level of nutrients near the shore. Even
so, global climate change provides mainly negative effects on zooplankton growth. In
conclusion, the effects of both El Nio and global climate change forces whale sharks out of their
normal aggregation areas, while also decreasing their total food supply by negatively impacting
the zooplanktons own niche.

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