“Because of their size, the whales can do things that whales do not do,” says Andrew Persing.
Whales are not biggerThey are also important to the health of the oceans. Whale peanuts carry tons of nutrients from deep water to the surface. Now, new research shows it Whales and a large amount of nitrogen passes Thousands of kilometers in their urine, a process that scientists are baptized as “great fun of whale urine.”
This ton of nitrogen They contribute to the health of tropical environmental systems and fish, especially in areas where nitrogen supply is low. In some places, Like HawaiiThe contribution of nutrients from whales is greater than local sources.
Whales carry 4,000 tonnes of nitrogen per year to coastal areas with nutritional deficiency
In 2010, Scientists revealed Those whales, feeding in depth and hunting on the surface, provide a basic resource for the development of Blankton Marine productivity. In a new study led by Vermont University, the full -scale whales prove that the full -scale nutrients, through the entire ocean, feeds the rich and cold water, to the hot beaches near the city of Ecuador, where they are born away.
Most are transported in urineHowever, they also contribute to the separation of the whale, the bodies of the whale, the feces of the teens and the placenta. “These coastal areas are usually clear water, a bass signal Nitrogen stageAnd have many environmental systems Coral reefs“Joe Roman, biologist of Vermont University, explains that he has directed new research.
“Nitrogen movement Other nutrients are important for the development of phytoplankton or microscopic algae, and serve sharks and other fish and many other spinal cord foods. StudyPublished in March in ‘Nature Communications’, Count it in the oceans Around the world, Large whalesEach year, the tropics and sub -tropics carry about 4,000 tonnes of nitrogen to coastal areas with some nutrients.
They contribute more than them 45,000 tons of bio. Before Hunting Population and scientists believe that these long -distance contributions may have been three or more times more.
What is the biggest drinking of the whale?
Can be seen as an important example of this process Thousands of Humpback whales It travels from a wide food zone in the Gulf of Alaska to the most restricted area of Hawaii, where they reproduce each year. There, within him National Palanas Sea Sanctuary The Bevian Islands, Nutritional Contribution, Tons of Urban, Skin, Corps and Peanuts, Whales, Whales, local sources are twice as much than transportation, scientists calculate a group of scientists.
“We call it the big whale conveyor belt,” says Roman, ”or May think that’s a funnel for her Because whales feed in large areas but must be in a relatively limited place to find and reproduce a partner Scattered in the wide sea They focus on the smallest coastal and coral environmental systems, “As we collected the leaves to make fertilizer for our garden,” Roman says.
An impact on the planet
In summer, adult whales feed more latitudes (Such as Alaska, Iceland and Antarctica), tons of fat accumulate. According to a recent inquiry, North Pacific Humpback Whales support 14 kg per day in spring, summer and fall.
This energy is needed for their epic sea journey. Gray whales They travel more than 11,000 kilometers between food areas against Russia and reproduction with Baja California. Humpback whales of the southern hemisphere They travel from food areas near Antarctica to 8,000 kilometers in front of Costa Rika.
Once in your reproductive placesWhales urinate a large amount of urea rich in nitrogen. A study conducted in Iceland suggests that rords are almost produced 1,000 liters of urine per day When they feed. Compared to, humans produce Less than two liters per day.
“Because of their size, whales can do things that no other animal do. Life lives differently“, Says Andrew Persing, one of the ten partners of the new study.
Scientists press to increase whale safety efforts
Before Start the whale industrial hunting In the nineteenth century, nutritional contributions have been “very high and this effect would have been very high,” says Pershing. In the Antarctic Sea, Blue whale people are very small After the extreme hunting of the twentieth century.
This study underlines the importance of promoting security efforts Increase people Throughout the planet. “Animals create the circulatory system of the planet,” says Roman, “Whales are just a serious example.”
