Rapid restructuring of the odontocete community in an ocean warming hotspot.

Cetaceans are important consumers in marine ecosystems, but few studies have quantified their climate responses. The rapid, directional warming occurring in the Northeast United States (NEUS) provides a unique opportunity to assess climate impacts on cetaceans. We used stranding data to examine changes to the distribution and relative abundance of odontocetes from 1996 to 2020 in both the NEUS and the Southeast United States (SEUS), which is not warming.