Whale poop pumps up ocean health
Tuesday, October 12, 2010 - 15:30
in Biology & Nature
Whales carry nutrients, especially nitrogen, from the depths where they feed back to the surface via their feces. This waste strongly enhances productivity of fisheries, scientists have found. They've called their discovery a "whale pump," reversing the assumption that whales accelerate loss of nutrients to the bottom. This nitrogen input in the Gulf of Maine is more than the input of all rivers combined, 23,000 metric tons annually.