More on whales:\u00a0<\/h4>\n- Whales, dolphins and porpoises of the UK guide<\/a><\/li>\n
- Minke whale guide<\/a><\/li>\n
- Blue whale guide<\/a><\/li>\n
- Mark Carwardine: we may yet be a step closer to a permanent end to Icelandic whaling<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>
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Each year, sperm whales around Antarctica release roughly 50 tonnes of iron from their deep-sea diet, triggering phytoplankton blooms that capture about 400,000 tonnes of carbon from the atmosphere \u2013 enough to offset the carbon released by the whales when they breathe out, making them carbon neutral.<\/p>\n
Before commercial whaling, sperm whale waste matter helped capture more like 2 million tonnes of carbon.<\/p>\n
This profound impact on other wildlife in the ecosystem has led to sperm whales being described as marine ecosystem engineers<\/a>.<\/p>\n More on ecosystem engineers:<\/h4>\n- Why a wave of hippo poop is great news for predators, but not for fish<\/a><\/li>\n
- Ecosystem engineer guide<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>
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![\""Hippopotamus\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/23\/2023\/01\/Hippo.-GettyImages-141467674-9c506ff.jpg?quality=45&resize=556,556"\" "\\"\"Hippopotamus\\"")
<\/div><\/div> <\/div> <\/section>As well as faeces, the digestive system of sperm whales also produce a substance called ambergris. This is a solid and waxy substance, which gains a sweet, earthy substance as it ages.<\/p>\n
It has long been used in perfumes, as well as being served as food or in a medicinal purpose \u2013 being considered an aphrodisiac in some cultures, and used to treat a range of ailments by Europeans in the Middle Ages.<\/p>\n
Because it is hard to come by naturally, and whaling has mostly stopped around the world, ambergris is worth a fortune when found.<\/p>\n
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Each year, sperm whales around Antarctica release roughly 50 tonnes of iron from their deep-sea diet, triggering phytoplankton blooms that capture about 400,000 tonnes of carbon from the atmosphere \u2013 enough to offset the carbon released by the whales when they breathe out, making them carbon neutral.<\/p>\n
Before commercial whaling, sperm whale waste matter helped capture more like 2 million tonnes of carbon.<\/p>\n
This profound impact on other wildlife in the ecosystem has led to sperm whales being described as marine ecosystem engineers<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p><\/div> As well as faeces, the digestive system of sperm whales also produce a substance called ambergris. This is a solid and waxy substance, which gains a sweet, earthy substance as it ages.<\/p>\n It has long been used in perfumes, as well as being served as food or in a medicinal purpose \u2013 being considered an aphrodisiac in some cultures, and used to treat a range of ailments by Europeans in the Middle Ages.<\/p>\n Because it is hard to come by naturally, and whaling has mostly stopped around the world, ambergris is worth a fortune when found.<\/p>\nMore on ecosystem engineers:<\/h4>\n
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