A new study, published in Nature Communications confirms what researchers have long suspected: Whales transport their urine, placentas and skin – a potent tonic loaded with nutrients – the longest known distances and thereby help keep the ocean and its diverse ecosystems healthy. This incredible tonic for the ocean consists of deposits of whale urine, placentas, carcasses, and sloughing skin. While it is generated in the whales’ summer feeding habitats, it is then transported through the ocean as the whales travel on their long journeys to winter breeding grounds.