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In the Southern Ocean, whales are reaching puberty earlier and getting
pregnant more often in a race to recover from human hunting. But can they beat
the challenge of soaring populations of seals and seabirds, which are currently
gobbling up the spare krill? Or has the ecosystem flipped? The Biology of the
Southern Ocean by George Knox (Cambridge University Press, £95, ISBN 0 521
32211 1), explains much, but can’t solve that riddle.