Can we survive without whales?

What is this? Whales play an important role in stabilizing the aquatic food chain and reproduction of other species. As more whales are killed, the ocean's food distribution becomes destabilized and causes changes in the food supply of many other kinds of marine life.

What happens if whales die out?

Decay sets in soon after the death of a whale, as the insides begin to decompose. The animal then expands with gas and sometimes floats up to the ocean's surface, where it can be scavenged by sharks and seabirds.

What would happen to the ocean without whales?

They use carbon dioxide from the atmosphere for photosynthesis and fill our atmosphere with oxygen. Less carbon dioxide means the Earth doesn't get as warm. So without whales, the ocean would not be healthy. And an ocean without whales is a growing concern.

Why are whales so important?

Whales are at the top of the food chain and have an important role in the overall health of the marine environment. Whales play a significant role in capturing carbon from the atmosphere; each great whale sequesters an estimated 33 tons of CO2 on average, thus playing their part in the fight against climate change.

Do whales keep us alive?

Wherever whales are found, so are phytoplankton. These tiny creatures produce every second breath we take, by contributing to at least 50 per cent of all the oxygen in our atmosphere. They also capture about 37 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide or four Amazon forests' worth.

What If All Whales Disappeared on Earth

How much is whale poop worth?

The waxy, rock-like substance is produced in the intestinal tract of one out of every 100 sperm whales. When expelled by the animal into the sea, ambergris can develop fragrant properties over time, which makes it a valuable ingredient in perfumes. The substance can fetch up to $25 per gram.

How do whales help the Earth?

Whales play a vital role in the marine ecosystem where they help provide at least half of the oxygen you breathe, combat climate change, and sustain fish stocks. How do they do it? By providing nutrients to phytoplankton.

Do whales create oxygen?

Scientists have called large whales “ecosystem engineers.” Research has shown that whales cycle nutrients in the ocean, help create the oxygen we breathe, and play a critical role in mitigating greenhouse gases. Not only breathtaking, whales are also breath-giving.

What effect do whales have on the environment?

Whales play a key part in helping to combat climate change through their role in the marine ecosystem. They play a vital role in the health of the oceans where they help provide up to 50% of our oxygen, combat climate change and sustain fish stocks.

Why we care about whales main idea?

In Marina Keegan's essay, Why We Care About Whales, Marina claims on how humans value the life of humans and the life of non-human animals. The essay starts with a social occurrence of emerging beached whales. A natural force that is created by the movement of both the moon and the Earth push whales to the beach.

How much is a whale worth?

After accounting for the economic benefits whales provide to industries such as ecotourism—and how much carbon they remove from the atmosphere by "sinking" it in their carbon-dense bodies—the researchers estimate that one great whale is worth about $2 million over the course of its life, they report in the trade ...

Do whales poop in the ocean?

When a whale releases its excrement the whales poop comes out as an almost liquid form of fecal matter (often in a plume-like cloud) and is light enough that it does not sink to the bottom sea but floats across the top of the ocean; in some cases the excrement may also come out in chunks rather than a plume-like cloud.

What happens if blue whales went extinct?

Humans selectively fish out the largest species from Earth's oceans, causing their populations to dwindle. If that weren't alarming enough, the extinction of those animals—think great white shark, bluefin tuna, and blue whale—could ripple down the food chain and spell extinction for entire ecosystems.

Do whale explode when they die?

Whales can apparently hold in gasses, or the “death burp,” for long periods after they die, sometimes resulting in massive and extremely messy explosions.

Do whales die of old age?

Cetaceans can simply die from old age. Their lifespan ranges from a few decades for harbour porpoises to over 200 years in case of bowhead whales. They can also die from predation from killer whales, polar bears or from sharks.

Why does a whale explode when it dies?

A decomposing whale carcass generates gases which build up inside their stomach and large internal organs. This then causes them to expand, but whale skin and blubber are tough so the gases become trapped inside, according to National Geographic.

How whale poop helps the ocean?

Eating more than thought means the whales also poop more than thought. But that poop helps out oceans because of the nutrients, like iron, it contains. Because whales usually defecate near the ocean surface, the nutrients inside help bloom carbon-absorbing phytoplankton that "form the base of ocean food-webs."

How can we save whales?

Why should we protect blue whales?

Why it matters. Whales are an important part of the marine food chain and play a huge role in maintaining the health of our oceans. While it may be considered an endangered species, the blue whale is truly international, occurring in all oceans except the Arctic, and enclosed seas of course.

Can we cool the ocean?

The cooling of the oceans will happen from the bottom of the ocean until it reaches its surface. It might take hundreds or thousands of years for the effects of the cooling to the detected in the world's atmosphere.

Does whale poop make oxygen?

De Vos said whales dive to the depths of the oceans to feed, and when they come back to the surface to breathe, they also excrete waste. This poop becomes food for microscopic plants called phytoplankton. These microorganisms use the whale poop, which is rich in iron and nitrogen, to photosynthesize and produce oxygen.

Do whales absorb more CO2 than trees?

Whales accumulate carbon in their bodies during their long lives. When they die, they sink to the bottom of the ocean; each great whale sequesters 33 tons of CO₂ on average, taking that carbon out of the atmosphere for centuries. A tree, meanwhile, absorbs only up to 48 pounds of CO₂ a year.

How do whales have so much money?

'Whales', as they're called, are the big spenders when it comes to online and social games, forking out roughly £25 a month on microtransactions. In free-to-play games, the vast majority of revenue is generated by 'whales' who make up a small percentage of the player base.

Do whales clean the ocean?

Whale excrement fertilizes the ocean, producing large phytoplankton blooms that absorb enormous amounts of carbon dioxide. Scientists point out that helping whale populations recover from past overharvesting can help reduce greenhouse gas levels in the atmosphere.

Why does whale poo matter?

Whales are some of the ocean's most fruitful gardeners. When whales poop, they drop a load of crucial nutrients into the 'topsoil' of the ocean. Their poop fertilizes the surface of the ocean with nutrients that are fundamental to the health of ocean ecosystems, the global nutrient cycle, and the carbon cycle.