A small percentage of sperm whales produce ambergris, a clump of squid beaks and fatty secretions that likely exits through the whales' bowels. It's coveted by perfumers for its unique scent. Quality ...

Whales of all shapes and sizes play a significant role in the health of marine ecosystems. About 50% of the air humans breathe is produced by the ocean, thanks to phytoplankton and whale waste. The ...

An illustration of the (A) pre-whaling and (B) post-whaling interactions between whales, shrimp-like krill (pink), and photosynthesizing organisms known as phytoplankton (top left of each panel) in ...

What can whale poop teach us about ocean nutrients? This is what a recent study published in Communications Earth & Environment hopes to address as a team of researchers investigated a link between a ...

A recent theory proposes that whales weren't just predators in the ocean environment: Nutrients that whales excreted may have provided a key fertilizer to these marine ecosystems. Oceanographers now ...