Whale pee moves vital nutrients thousands of miles
Even for the world’s largest animals, “when you gotta go, you gotta go.” Whale’s volcanic poop offers up a treasure trove of biological information and nutrients for the ocean. Not to be left out, their urine also plays a critical role in a healthy ocean–and planet. Whale urine moves nutrients thousands of miles across entire ocean basins. Some new research found that great whales—including right whales, gray whales, and humpbacks—transport roughly 4,000 tons of nitrogen to low-nutrient coastal areas in the tropics and subtropics every single year. This “great whale pee funnel” is detailed in a study published March 10 in the journal Nature Communications. Humpback whale urinating underwater near Hawaii. CREDIT: Lars Bejder, NOAA permit 21476 The whale pump A 2010 study from this same team dove into their poop, more specifically the whale ‘pump.’ Whales will feed deeper in the ocean and then come up to the surface to digest,...