Whale pee moves vital nutrients thousands of miles
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A mother humpback whale and her calf swimming in warm waters. Martin van Aswegen/NOAA Permit 21476ShareEven for the worlds largest animals, when you gotta go, you gotta go. Whales 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 oceanand planet. Whale urine moves nutrients thousands of miles across entire ocean basins. Some new research found that great whalesincluding right whales, gray whales, and humpbackstransport 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.The whale pumpA 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, rest, and poop. Their downward excrement then pumps critical nutrients and resources for plankton growth and into the water.But we soon realized that was only part of the story, Joe Roman, a study co-author and conservation biologist at the University of Vermont, tells Popular Science. Baleen whales are capital breeders, feeding for part of the year in high-latitude productive areas, such as Alaska, and having calves and nursing during the winter in areas like Hawaii, where [they] typically fast.Similarly, humpback whales in the Southern Hemisphere migrate more than 5,000 miles from their foraging grounds near Antarctica to mating sites off Costa Rica. They burn off about 200 pounds each day, all while urinating vast amounts of nitrogen-rich urea. Get the Popular Science newsletter Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. By signing up you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.The great whale pee funnelWhen the team took a closer look at the ecological impacts that this extreme feast-or-famine adaptation has, they found that the whales will break down energy stores in their blubber and muscles and then release those excess nutrients into the water. The nutrients often benefit coastal areas with low nitrogen and coral reef ecosystems. Fin whales in Iceland may produce more than 250 gallons of urine per day when they are feeding. By comparison, humans pee less than half a gallon daily.This new study quantifies the energy transfer from all of that urine, which the team calls the great whale convertor belt or great whale pee funnel.We looked at the movement of nitrogen and carbon, but surely many nutrients, such as phosphorus also move in the process, says Roman. Nitrogen is commonly found as urea in pee. Nitrogen in this form can be readily available to marine algae and presumably corals and other invertebrates.When whales are around, it can more than double the amount of nitrogen in coastal areas and around reefs. This process rivals natural upwelling, where currents bring nutrients from deeper waters up to the surface. The whales also serve as ocean ocean connectors.One big difference is that whales are often traveling thousands of miles across ocean basinsgreat whales undertake the longest migration of any mammal, says Roman. So they connect areas close to the poles to tropical areas that are often nutrient-limited.The great whale pee funnel. CREDITL A. Boersma & Nature Communications, The team calculates that these migratory whales transport about 4,000 tons of nitrogen each year and bring more than 45,000 tons of biomass.It can be thought of as a funnel because whales mostly feed over large areas, but need to be in a more confined space to mate, breed, and give birth. The calves at first dont have the energy to make it these long distances the way that the moms can and will stay in more shallow or sandy water to muffle their sounds.Moms and newborns are calling all the time, staying in communication and they dont want predators, like killer whales, or breeding humpback males, to pick up on that, says Roman.[ Related: Biologists vastly underestimated how much whales eat and poop. ]The planets circulatory systemIn future research, the team plans to look inside the gut microbiome of these whales. Various microorganisms help them survive their incredible journeys and Romans team is curious how they lend this support.They couldnt do it without their microbes, says Roman.The team also believes that in the days before industrial human whaling these long-distance nutrient outputs may have been three or more times larger than they are today. Maintaining and increasing the whale population globally could help boost ocean health.We often think of plants as the lungs of the planet. Animals are the circulatory system, says Roman. Whale populations were cut back by commercial whaling by more than two thirds, with some species like Antarctic blue whales reduced by 99 percent. By restoring these populations, we can restore the planets circulatory system. I am sure there will be lots of surprises.
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