World Oceans Day丨Today, let’s get to know this friend in the deep sea again

Expert of this article: Liu Yadan, former assistant secretary-general/researcher of China Fisheries Society, national chief scientific communication expert

The ocean, one of the most fascinating and mysterious places on earth.

There is an "unknown world" hidden there, with smart and cute dolphins, a large number of small fish and shrimps... and many unknown mysterious creatures.

Today (June 8) is World Oceans Day. Let us go to the ocean and introduce a precious friend of the deep sea.

Copyright image, no permission to reprint

It can be said that it is the "excretion champion" among marine organisms, producing the most urine and feces, and has made a huge contribution to the marine toilet. When people mention it, they will unconsciously think of "one thing falls, all things come to life".

This animal is a whale. Do you know how much excrement a whale discharges into the ocean? Let's get to know it again through this article.

Which marine organisms produce the most excrement?

It is the giant in the sea - the whale.

How do we calculate the actual amount of excretion of whales? This is a headache for scientists. They can only calculate the daily excretion of smaller and easier-to-observe marine organisms, such as seals and dolphins. Then, based on the size of adult whales, we can further estimate their excretion. The data obtained in this way is not accurate, but it can provide a general concept of the amount of excretion of whales.

For example, a 26-meter-long, 72-ton fin whale produces 974 liters of urine a day, which is equivalent to the urine output of an adult in three years. As for how much a whale can excrete in a day, there is no scientific and accurate method to calculate it. But what we know is that whales usually "go to the bathroom" before diving to hunt, excreting a large amount of colorful and smelly feces.

Copyright image, no permission to reprint

Where does this excrement go?

First, we need to understand the food chain in the ocean.

At the bottom of the marine food chain are primary producers, who can make their own food by converting the sun's energy into sugars in a process called "photosynthesis." They also provide oxygen to the ocean, further increasing the oxygen concentration in the atmosphere.

Phytoplankton, seaweed, kelp and other seaweed are important primary producers and are eaten by marine herbivores, or marine vegetarians.

Larger animals such as sea urchins, conchs and mussels, oysters, some fish species, and manatees are herbivores.

There are also many marine creatures that are not vegetarians and will eat other marine creatures, including sharks, seals, some seabirds, octopuses, many fish species and mollusks.

In addition, there are some omnivores that eat both meat and vegetables, including many whales, turtles, crabs and some seabirds.

Whales are at the top of the food chain in the marine ecosystem. They can transfer energy, information, and nutrients, promoting the circulation and development of the entire ecosystem.

Copyright image, no permission to reprint

Researchers say that whale excrement is gold in the ocean and the most nutritious recyclable resource. Because its feces contain a large amount of undigested nutrients, it can provide delicious bait for plankton and stimulate the growth of phytoplankton, thus providing sufficient food for fish and shrimp in the sea. In other words, whales eat fish and shrimp, but whale excrement feeds plankton, which indirectly feeds fish and shrimp.

Whales are like nutrient transport ships in the marine ecosystem. They eat large amounts of nutrients in high-latitude areas where food is abundant, and then transport the nutrients to low-latitude areas where food is less abundant through excretion, a distance of up to thousands of kilometers.

They forage for food in the deep sea and swim to the surface to excrete, bringing nutrients from the deep sea to the surface, and also driving the upper and lower nutrient cycles of the ocean.

At this point, some people may be curious about a question: What would happen if you were accidentally swallowed by a whale?

What would happen if you were swallowed by a whale?

When you accidentally fall into the whale's mouth and slip on the whale's tongue, the first thing you face is more than 50 teeth as long as steak knives.

After 1 minute, you will enter a sticky area, which is its throat, and you will smell a foul odor. At this point, your struggle will be useless.

Copyright image, no permission to reprint

As you slide down your digestive tract, the methane gas builds up, and as you reach your intestines, you feel the acid surrounding you corroding your body.

Whales have four stomachs, each containing a large amount of gastric juice. After being tossed back and forth by the four stomachs, the body will be thoroughly digested and absorbed and excreted along with the small fish and shrimp.

Is it possible to escape? There is a chance. Whales vomit every once in a while, vomiting something that they cannot swallow and makes them feel uncomfortable. If they are lucky, they may be able to escape.

But don't be afraid, after all, the probability of being swallowed by a whale is too small. Whales are not very interested in humans, so as long as you don't actively provoke them, you don't have to worry about being attacked. The above assumptions are only to help you understand whales better.

Whales are just one of more than 30 million marine species.

There are many creatures in the ocean

Care for them

Protecting the Ocean

To protect our common home

The cover of this article and the pictures with watermarks in the text are from the copyright library and are not authorized for reproduction