Fig. 1: The Great whale conveyor belt.
From: Migrating baleen whales transport high-latitude nutrients to tropical and subtropical ecosystems
Many baleen whales travel thousands of kilometers from their summer foraging areas to winter grounds, including breeding and calving areas. Nitrogen and other elements can be released in the form of urine, carcasses, placentas, sloughing skin, and feces (primarily from nursing calves). Humpback whales of the Central North Pacific, shown here, primarily feed off the coast of Alaska and spend winters in the shallow waters of the Hawaiian archipelago. (Illustration by A. Boersma).
