Whale Pee: A Gift for the Ocean
• This is a very short video! 19 seconds!
What is one way whales help ocean ecosystems?
How might whales be compared to gardeners?
Where do whales often feed during the summer?
Why do whales travel to warm waters in the winter?
What do whales live on during their migration? (Hint: they don’t eat)
What three kinds of whales did Roman and other scientists focus on?
Why did scientists study elephant seals?
What are phytoplankton?
How much nitrogen do whales bring to Hawaiian waters each year?
What is one way whales used to help even more in the past?
• Read •
Whale Pee: A Gift for the Ocean
Whales as Ocean Helpers
Whales do more than swim through the sea. They help the ocean in surprising ways. One way is through their poop, which is full of nutrients.
But their pee also plays a big part in keeping ocean life healthy. When whales migrate, or travel long distances, they leave behind important nutrients in their urine. These nutrients help tiny ocean creatures grow, which helps the whole ocean food chain.
Joe Roman is a scientist who studies whales. He says whales are like “gardeners” of the ocean.
They move nutrients from deep water to the surface when they poop. But whales also travel across oceans. Some go thousands of miles without eating, living only on their fat. As they break down fat for energy, they pee out extra water and nutrients.
Whales on the Move
Many kinds of whales feed in cold, northern waters, like near Alaska or Iceland.
These places are full of nutrients, and whales eat a lot there.
But in winter, whales travel to warmer places like Hawaii or the Caribbean to have babies. These warm waters don’t have many nutrients.
During their journey south and their time in warm waters, whales don’t eat. That means they also don’t poop.
Instead, they use their blubber for energy.
As they do, they pee — a lot. No one knew exactly how many nutrients were in this whale pee. So, Roman and his team decided to find out.
They looked at humpback whales that eat near Alaska and then travel to Hawaii to breed.
When they arrive in Hawaii, they bring more than just their bodies. They also bring nutrients. These nutrients come not only from pee but also from other sources — skin they shed, waste from baby whales, and even the bodies of whales that die.
Studying Whale Pee
Roman and other scientists focused on three types of whales: gray, humpback, and right whales.
These whales don’t have teeth. Instead, they use special plates in their mouths called baleen to catch tiny sea creatures like plankton and krill.
The team wanted to know how many nutrients whales leave in their breeding grounds. But it’s hard to study whales in tanks because they are so big.
So, scientists looked at elephant seals, which are smaller but also fast during breeding season. Elephant seal pee gave them clues about how much nitrogen whales might release.
Nitrogen is one of the most important nutrients in the ocean. It helps tiny plants called phytoplankton grow. Phytoplankton are food for many ocean creatures. They also absorb carbon dioxide, a gas that causes global warming. That means whale pee might even help fight climate change!
Big Numbers, Big Impact
Roman’s team found that gray, humpback, and right whales bring almost 4,000 metric tons of nitrogen to Hawaiian waters each year. That’s more nitrogen than in 2 million bags of garden fertilizer! It’s also enough to double the amount of nitrogen in those waters.
That extra nitrogen helps phytoplankton grow, which feeds many sea animals. Other nutrients come from whale placentas (after baby whales are born), dead whales, and baby whale poop.
Altogether, Roman says, these whales bring the same amount of food as 20 million Big Macs every year. That’s a huge gift for the ocean!
The team published its findings in a science journal called Nature Communications.
What This Means for the Ocean
Roman says the biggest surprise was how much nitrogen was in whale pee. It was the largest source of nutrients in their breeding areas.
Long ago, before humans hunted whales so much, there were many more of them. Back then, whales probably brought three times as many nutrients to the ocean.
Other scientists agree this is an exciting discovery.
Carla Freitas Brandt, a scientist from Norway, says it’s amazing that whales don’t eat or poop in warm waters, yet they still give nutrients just by peeing. Sean Johnson-Bice, a scientist from Canada, compares it to arctic foxes.
Those foxes move nutrients too, by leaving waste at their dens. He says the new study shows how important large animals like whales are for their ecosystems.
Roman believes this research shows that animals are shaping the planet. He hopes that people will work to protect and grow whale populations. Other animals, like buffalo on land, also help spread nutrients.
Saving these animals helps nature stay strong and healthy.
Absorb – to take in or soak up something, like a sponge does with water.
Algae – tiny green plants that live in water.
Blubber – thick fat on whales that helps keep them warm.
Breeding – the process of having babies.
Carbon Dioxide – a gas that comes from breathing and pollution; too much can cause the planet to heat up.
Ecosystem – a place where plants, animals, and other things live and work together.
Fertilizer – something added to soil or water to help plants grow.
Krill – tiny sea animals that whales and fish eat.
Migration – when animals travel from one place to another, often to breed or find food.
Nutrients – substances that help plants and animals grow and stay healthy.
Phytoplankton – tiny ocean plants that float in the water and are food for sea creatures.
Urine – the liquid waste that animals and people pee out.
► COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS
— please answer with complete sentences
What is one way whales help ocean ecosystems?
How might whales be compared to gardeners?
Where do whales often feed during the summer?
Why do whales travel to warm waters in the winter?
What do whales live on during their migration? (Hint: they don’t eat)
What three kinds of whales did Roman and other scientists focus on?
Why did scientists study elephant seals?
What are phytoplankton?
How much nitrogen do whales bring to Hawaiian waters each year?
What is one way whales used to help even more in the past?
► From EITHER/OR ► BOTH/AND
► FROM Right/Wrong ► Creative Combination
THESIS — Argue the case that pee is disgusting and that scientist should spend their time studying things of greater importance.
ANT-THESIS — Argue the case that studying disgusting things like pee might provide valuable information about how the ecosystems of the world work.
SYN-THESIS — How might both perspectives be right?
