Whale Poop Drives Global Nutrient Cycling
Source
What's Next?
The next step that we can take to help with the survival of these whales is to just stop hunting them. I believe that our government is able to pass an act that will reduce or at least stop the killing of whales. Whales and their waste that they produce is a very important part of the ocean ecosystem and i think it is VERY important that we have to try and save them. Another solution can be to not capture these whales for our entertainment. They have a certain purpose that they play within the dynamic of the ocean and i believe that we should respect that fact. They should be able to move around the ocean more freely. Another solution can be that we should monitor these whales. With that, we are able to see how they are doing and make sure that they don't get illegally captured. We can also monitor their health and maintain their wellbeing so they can live a long lifespan.
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Summary
The world's ocean is home of many whale. However, because humans have begun to hunt these species, 99 percent of the Southern Hemisphere's blue whales have been wiped out. With the elimination of the whales, another element of the ocean is also eliminated. Whales poop is very important, "...because it transports nutrients from the deep ocean, up to the surface". Whales feed on organisms deeper in the ocean then come to the surface to breathe and digest. The do not just come to the surface for these reasons. They also poop and pee. When they do this, they release all these nutrients into the surface of the ocean. This is very important to the ocean because the nutrients they release include phosphorus which is slurped up by phytoplankton and algae which are essential to all of marine life.
ReflectionThe whales are a very important part of our oceans marine life. Before reading this article, i was not fully away just how much they are essential to the ocean. They are so important that their feces are needed for VERY important organisms in the ocean; phytoplankton and algae. Because of the lessons i have learned from my APES class, i am aware of just how important phytoplankton are to marine life. They are the basis of the entire oceans ecosystem and without them, then there wouldn't be food for most organisms in the ocean. The reason why i chose this article was because i was interested in seeing what use whale poop has and after reading this, i am very surprised just how essential they really are. The fact that they contribute to the survival of the phytoplankton means that it is essential to the lives of all marine life.
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