Whale Doody Does Duty

Talk about the mother of all floaters. Whale poop pumps much-needed nitrogen to the ocean surface, among providing other valuable ecosystem services.

According to Science Daily, "this liquid fecal matter, rich in nutrients, has a huge positive influence on the productivity of ocean fisheries."  These fecal matters came from University of Vermont whale biologist Joe Roman and his colleague, James McCarthy from Harvard University.

For those wondering about dead zones, which result from too many nutrients especially nitrogen, many places in the ocean have a limited supply of nitrogen, that is until whales drop the kids off at the pool, or more precisely, the ocean.

Here's a conceptual diagram from Science Daily. For those who just want to see it, scroll down.

It's Pink!

Read more here.

Photo courtesy of ScotS101