{
  "id": 6651597,
  "title": "Body condition as an indicator of long-term ecosystem change: evidence from common dolphins",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/10/body-condition-as-an-indicator-of-long-term-ecosystem-change-evidence",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-09-10T00:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "bioRxiv",
    "slug": "biorxiv",
    "url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.08.750080v1?rss=1"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In the face of climate change and its impact on marine ecosystems, researchers have developed a new method to monitor long-term changes using body condition indices (BCIs) of common dolphins. The study, which analyzed a dataset spanning 22 years from 1998 to 2019, involved a total of 597 stranded common dolphins (Delphinus delphis) from Northwest Spain.\n\nTo ensure accuracy, the BCIs were created based on morphometric measurements like body length, girth, and blubber thickness, and were subsequently validated against visual assessments of the dolphins' nutritional status. The study found that girth-based BCIs were more effective in predicting the dolphins' nutritional status compared to those based on blubber thickness.\n\nInterestingly, the BCIs showed different sensitivities to confounding factors. While both indices demonstrated an increase in male body condition from 2009 to 2010, followed by a consistent decline through 2019, no long-term trend was observed in female dolphins. Through a series of analyses, the researchers discovered that changes in body condition were linked to climate and oceanography-driven alterations in prey communities and reduced prey quality.\n\nIn conclusion, the study suggests that body condition in common dolphins can serve as a valuable indicator of ecosystem changes. With increasing reports of declining body condition in marine predators globally, the approach outlined in this research offers a practical and adaptable framework for monitoring long-term ecosystem changes using existing stranding network data.",
  "summary": "As climate change continues to disrupt marine ecosystems, reliable body condition indices (BCIs) for sentinel megafauna species such as dolphins will become increasingly important tools for long-term ecosystem monitoring. We developed novel BCIs from routinely collected morphometric measurements and applied them to a 22-year dataset (1998-2019) of 597 stranded common dolphins (Delphinus delphis)…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}