species

There are a few studies, such as on the toxicity of plastics, changes in habitats and ecosystems and rafting of species.

Collisions are the leading cause of death worldwide for large whale species.

Yet global data on ship strikes of whales are hard to come by -- impeding efforts to protect vulnerable whale species.

In the paper, published online Nov. 21 in Science, researchers report that global shipping traffic overlaps with about 92% of these whale species' ranges.

"This translates to ships traveling thousands of times the distance to the moon and back within these species' ranges each and every year, and this problem is only projected to increase as global trade grows in the coming decades," said senior author Briana Abrahms, a UW assistant professor of biology and researcher with the Center for Ecosystem Sentinels.