More than simply swimming through the ocean, whales aid in its preservation. Nutrient transport due to their deep-sea feeding and surface defecation has already been studied, but a recent study ...

“One big difference is that whales are often traveling thousands of miles across ocean basins–great whales undertake the longest migration of any mammal,” says Roman. “So they connect areas close to ...

Scientists have spent a lot of time thinking about how the nutrients in whale feces—also known as whale pump —benefit species ...

Researchers from the University of Vermont, who published their findings in Nature Communications, found that humpback, gray and right whales transport more than 3,700 tons of nitrogen each year ...

As opposed to a constant flow from sources above and below ground, periods of heavy rain and runoff deliver the greatest amounts of fertilizer-derived nitrogen through creeks, rivers, and storm drains ...

Seabirds transport nitrogen and phosphorus from the ocean to the land in their poop, increasing the density of plants on islands. Animals form the circulatory system of the planet -- and whales ...

“For their part, animals play an important role in moving nutrients. Seabirds transport nitrogen and phosphorus from the ocean to the land in their poop, increasing the density of plants on island ...