Baleen whales, the largest animals on the earth eat much food and they poo (排便) a lot more, too. The 1 findings could provide a better understanding of how to protect 2 , because poo from baleen whales is important food for some sea life.
The whales' favorite food is krill (磷虾). Working out how much a whale eats is 3 because it swims in the deep part of the ocean.
Matthew Savoca, a scientist said, "This is an important question, 4 thought we found it out many years ago, but no one had answered it." The research team followed 321 baleen whales with machines, and watched them feed 5 . The 6 showed the baleen whales eat about 18,000 kg a day, far more than the scientists expected.
This is important for both whales and oceans. The Krill has more iron (铁) than whales' bodies can use, so they poo much of the iron out. This iron helps to 7 phytoplankton (浮游植物), which are the krill's favorite food. Because of people's killing, the number of whales 8 in the 20th century, so there was less iron-rich poo. This explains why krill became less and less—9 there were fewer whales eating them.
The scientists say that when the number of whales recovers (恢复), the poo could cause 10 phytoplankton, and phytoplankton are good for environment.
