The importance of whale urine for the planet: a thousand litres a day

A study published in the journal Nature has revealed the importance of whales to the Earth. Specifically, their urine. The approximately 1,000 liters per day generated by these cetaceans are key to the balance of ecosystems. The reason is the enormous amount of nutrients they transport in the oceans, something that becomes even more relevant due to their migratory behavior. The report highlights in particular the amount of nitrogen they transport, which it puts at 3,784 tons per year. "This figure could have been three times higher before commercial whaling," the researchers explain.

The study insists on the importance of these large cetaceans transporting huge quantities of nutrients and other key elements from high to low latitudes. "They have the potential to transport elements in their bodies from highly productive feeding areas (...) through urination, defecation and lactation," says the study, published in the prestigious journal Nature.

This is not an anecdotal fact. Being so huge and the largest creatures in the oceans, whales are an essential pillar in the balance of the ecosystem. "These whales transport the largest amounts of carbon and nitrogen ever recorded by animals over thousands of kilometers," the researchers analyze. The transport of nitrogen, iron and phosphorus would be clearly affected.

Whales are not the only animal that contributes to the transport of these elements. However, they are the ones that have the greatest impact. "It has important effects on the ecosystem, including adaptation to changing environmental conditions," Nature commented. The authors of the study, on the other hand, lamented the decline in whale populations in recent years: "Although many populations have increased since the demise of commercial whaling, future recovery is endangered by human actions such as shipping, fishing and climate change."