- Lebanon state media says Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Miami on track for MLS record points after win in Toronto
- Monaco take top spot in Ligue 1 with win at Rennes
- Madrid beat Villarreal to level Liga leaders Barca
- Thuram treble fires Inter past Torino and up to second
- 'Fight': defiant Trump jets in to site of rally shooting
- Mexico City's new mayor sworn in with pledges on water, housing
- Israel on alert ahead of Hamas attack anniversary
- Guardians maul Tigers in MLB playoff series opener
- Macron criticises Israel on Gaza, Lebanon operations
- French rugby player whistled but 'serene' on return amid ongoing rape case
- Retegui hat-trick fires five-star Atalanta to hammering of Genoa
- Heavyweights Australia, England off to World Cup winning starts
- Visiting UN refugee agency chief decries 'terrible crisis' in Lebanon
- Spinners come to party as England defeat Bangladesh at T20 World Cup
- Search continues for missing in deadly Bosnia floods
- Man City sink Fulham to get title bid back on track
- France's Auradou whistled on Pau return in Perpignan loss amid ongoing rape case
- A 'forgotten' valley in storm-hit North Carolina, desperate for help
- Arsenal hit back in style after Southampton scare
- Hezbollah heir apparent Safieddine out of contact after strikes
- Liverpool stay top of Premier League as Arsenal, Man City win
- In dank Tour of Emilia, Pogacar shines in rainbow jersey
- DR Congo launches mpox vaccination drive, hoping to curb outbreak
- Trump returns to site of failed assassination
- Careless Leverkusen held to Bundesliga draw
- O'Brien's 'superstar' Kyprios posts landmark win on Arc weekend
- Liverpool suffer Alisson injury blow
- Habosi helps Racing beat Vannes before Auradou's playing return
- Thousands march in London in support of Palestinians, 1 year after Oct 7
- Israel readying response to Iran missile attack
- Schutt, Mooney help Australia beat Sri Lanka in Women's T20 World Cup
- Liverpool extend Premier League lead with win at Palace
- Djokovic 'shakes rust off' to make third round of Shanghai Masters
- 'Imperfect' PSG fighting on all fronts - Luis Enrique
- Struggling Pakistan look to thwart adaptable England
- Child 'trampled to death' in asylum seekers' Channel crossing: minister
- Gauff fights back to set up Beijing final against Muchova
- Guardiola claims Premier League won't delay season for Man City
- Israel to mark October 7 attack as Gaza war spreads
- Gauff fights back to reach China Open final
- Recovering Stokes ruled out of first Pakistan Test
- Hezbollah battles troops on border as Israel pounds Lebanon
- Alcaraz, Sinner breeze into third round of Shanghai Masters
- Bagnaia wins Japan MotoGP sprint to cut Martin's lead
- Alcaraz breezes into third round of Shanghai Masters
- Gaza cultural heritage brought to light in Geneva
- 'Bullet for democracy': Trump returns to site of rally shooting
- Italy targets climate activists in 'anti-Gandhi' demo clampdown
- South Korean cult-horror series 'Hellbound' returns at BIFF
Norway study highlights whale excrement's role in ecosystem
Minke whale excrement is "worth its weight in gold" as it plays an important role in fertilizing phytoplankton and thereby reducing the cetacean's carbon footprint, according to a Norwegian study.
For the first time, researchers from the Norwegian Institute for Marine Research have studied the concentration of nutrients in whale excrement before it is dissolved in seawater.
"It can sound disgusting, but for the ecosystem it's worth its weight in gold," researchers said in a statement Thursday.
"The idea is simply that the faeces fertilize the sea in the same way that cows and sheep do on land," they continued.
The researchers analysed the excrement of minke whales harpooned by whalers -- as Norway is one of few countries allowing the commercial hunting of these cetaceans.
The some 15,000 whales that migrate each summer to the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard in the Arctic release some 600 tonnes of excrement on the surface of the water each day, at a rate of about 40 kilograms (88 pounds) per animal.
According to the study, the daily excrement releases about 10 tonnes of phosphorus and 7 tonnes of nitrogen into the oceans, nutrients that are essential for the growth of phytoplankton -- microscopic algae that absorb carbon dioxide through photosynthesis and convert it into oxygen.
The scientists concluded that the minke whale excrement contributed to between 0.2 and 4 percent of daily phytoplankton production in the Arctic Svalbard region.
"The real contribution of whales is probably higher because these estimates do not include urine, which is very rich in nitrogen," research leader Kjell Gundersen told AFP.
Each minke whale -- an animal weighing 40-50 tonnes as an adult that feeds by filtering large quantities of water -- releases "several hundred litres of urine" per day.
"If there are fewer whales, there is a risk that there will be less fertilisation of the ocean," Gundersen said.
"More phytoplankton production also means more CO2 is absorbed," he added.
"This is positive for the climate," he noted, "but we don't know the net balance of whales in terms of greenhouse gases" because cetaceans also emit methane when they breathe.
This question, which is still largely unexplored, will be the subject of a European study that will start in June and last four years.
S.Pimentel--PC