I love whales. They are majestic and mysterious creatures that are similar to humans in so many ways. Whales are highly intelligent who form friendships, protective of their young, are known to be playful, and also grieve the loss of another. They are able to communicate with each other and their calls can be heard for miles underwater.
Beyond these amazing characteristics, whales play an important role in our ecosystem. Whales help provide the oxygen we need and help combat climate change. How do they do this? They provide nutrients to phytoplankton.
Phytoplankton can be compared to plants that live on the ocean’s surface that require sunlight, water, nutrients like iron, and carbon dioxide to photosynthesize. In short, phytoplankton sequester carbon dioxide from the earth’s atmosphere.
Whales come near the surface of the oceans to defecate and when they do, they help to fertilize the phytoplankton which keeps the phytoplankton healthy and continue like plants on land to absorb the carbon dioxide in the air and provide part of the oxygen we breathe. Whales are like the gardeners of the ocean and help provide us with 50-80% of the oxygen we breathe.
Which is why it is so important to help keep our oceans healthy. An easy way to help keep our oceans and marine life healthy is to purchase a bracelet from 4Ocean. For every purchase of a bracelet, a pound of plastic is removed from the oceans.
Here is a link to purchase a whale bracelet:
https://www.4ocean.com/collections/bracelets/products/whale-braided-bracelet
A little help can go a long way to keep our oceans healthy and us!
References:
1. https://us.whales.org/whales-dolphins/facts-about-whales/
2. https://us.whales.org/green-whale/
