Seagrasses need nutrients to thrive, particularly nitrogen (N). Up to now, it has been assumed that the nitrogen is taken up by the seagrasses through leaves and roots from the surrounding seawater and sediment.

However, in many of the regions where seagrasses are most abundant, there is little nitrogen to be found. Furthermore, while nitrogen is abundant in the sea in its elemental form (N₂), seagrasses cannot use it in this form. 

Scientists have discovered that the baleen plates of toothless whales can reveal how these mammals adapt to environmental changes over time. By examining the baleen plates, which held a chemical record of their feeding patterns, scientists could find out how changes in the whales’ feeding habits corresponded with the changing climate cycles.

After a study involving humpback and right whales in the Pacific and Indian Ocean, they published their findings in the Frontiers in Marine Science journal.