Big whale, big pee and big poop! Until then, do you agree with us? The blue whale is currently the largest and largest animal that lives on earth. Its size can exceed 30 meters and it can weigh almost 200 tonnes! An immense animal… with equally impressive and above all, essential excrement for marine ecosystems! Whale pipis and peanuts nourish phytoplankton, which in turn will serve as a meal with fish and help limit the amount of CO2dans. It is a real virtuous circle that is set up.
A whale, whales …
When we say “whale”, we often tend to think of the blue whale, this immense marine animal with its large fins and big baleen. However, there are many other species of whales. All are part of the family of cetaceans.
We classify the whales in two groups. The mysticets include bastard whales (blue whale, humpback whale, frank whale …), while odontocètes bring together tooth whales (sperm whale, orca, narval …).
Whales live relatively for a long time, up to 100 years depending on the species! And, of course, they feed throughout their lives.
Tooth whales feed on prey such as seals or calamari, on the other hand, cetaceans with baleen feed on Krill.
The “Krills” are small ocean crustaceans. Small, certainly, but powerful! Indeed, these animals represent a biomass between 300 and 500,000,000 tonnes! They thus represent one of the most abundant species in the world!
Baleine whales, like the Rorqual, can swallow up to a ton of Krill each time they open their mouths. And, for your governs, an Rorqual can do it 4 times a day!
Regardless of the diet, the meal of these seas behemoths always ends up in excrement … Cacas and Pipis then play a new role!
The blue whale is the largest mammal in the world.
Credits: Shutterstock/Muratart
>> Read also: How to sleep the whales?
Cacas of whales that help … to trap CO2!
Whale droppings are an essential link in the food chain. Rich in nutrients like nitrogen and iron, they are indeed very appreciated by phytoplankton. These microorganisms live free in all aquatic ecosystems, from oceans to puddles.
The term phytoplankton actually brings together more than 160,000 species, and again, this number seems very below reality! There are mainly cyanobacteria and microalgae.
All these microorganisms carry out photosynthesis and thus produce half of the oxygen on our planet. The rest comes from land plants. We therefore understand the importance of this phytoplankton!
Whales tend to dive for food. They then rise to the surface to breathe. They then release a plume of fecal matter, which is the joy of phytoplankton! Microorganisms remain on the surface because they need light.
Phytoplankton is also an essential CO2 sensor. It acts as a real carbon pump.
If the microorganisms die before being devoured, they flow at the bottom of the water, which makes it possible to store and imprison the carbon they have absorbed. Each year, billions of tons of carbon are thus trapped in the oceans, which relieves our atmosphere …
>> Read also: Marine biology: 40 % of phytoplankton have disappeared for sixty years
Whales that redistribute resources
Take the rich to give to the poor is a bit of the role of whales! Do not get me wrong, we are not talking about living beings, but geographic areas.
Some whales, such as gray whale and humpback whale, are migratory animals. They thus feed the nitrogen oceans, thanks to their urine!
In summer, these cetaceans eat in polar areas rich in Krills. In the winter season, they will migrate to tropical regions. These are warmer and are mainly used for reproduction and low. On the other hand, these tropical regions are poorer in nutrients.
By urinating up to 950 liters per day, whales will redistribute nutrients, and more particularly nitrogen, in depleted areas.
Scientists were indeed surprised to note that urine is the richest nitrogen source! Thanks to their pee, the whales therefore transport nearly 4,000 tonnes of nitrogen per year to tropical areas. This flow is called, “the large carpet treading whales”.
Before commercial hunting and the important decline in whales, this figure could have been three times higher.
The restoration of cetacean species could help restore the transport of nutrients in the oceans around the world and thus increase the resilience and the ability to adapt ecosystems.
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The cycle of life …
“Dust you are, dust you will be” … or rather nitrogen you will become. Because death (natural, let's hear ourselves well!) Whales is also beneficial for the oceans.
When they die, the whales start to float for a short time. Their corpse then becomes the prey of many scales, whether with scales or feathers. They take their content from flesh, very rich in nutrients. Then, the whale corpse ends up sinking to the bottom of the ocean.
Its carcass will be used for many living beings, a real boon for biodiversity. The depths (sharks and other fish) devour the remains of flesh, which can sometimes take more than a year!
Then, they are crustaceans and microorganisms that will finish cleaning the skeleton, sometimes for several years. The carcass therefore allows an entire ecosystem to develop.
The whale hunting for several centuries has decimated the populations of Cetaceans. Even their corpses no longer contributed to marine life, since they were loaded on the boats. Until the ban on whale industrial hunting in 1966, it was estimated that 30% of abyssal biomass had disappeared.
The cessation of this hunting (except for some countries, such as Japan) allows the populations of cetaceans to recover gradually and thus helps marine ecosystems of the depths to be prosperous.
>> Read also: What if … we hadn't driven out the whales?
With an unwavering passion for local news, Christopher leads our editorial team with integrity and dedication. With over 20 years’ experience, he is the backbone of Wouldsayso, ensuring that we stay true to our mission to inform.
