Sea otters floating in kelp. “The difference in annual absorption of atmospheric carbon from kelp photosynthesis between a world with and a world without sea otters is somewhere between 13 and 43 billion kilos (13 and 43 teragrammes) of carbon,” he continued. *Otters are believed to have been on earth for 30 million years *Otters live on every continent except Antarctica and Australia. K.E.L.P. By preying on urchins—which themselves devour greenhouse gas-absorbing kelp forests—the sea otters encourage the plants to flourish. To survive, an adult sea otter needs to eat up to 38 per cent of its body weight due to very high metabolic rates. An example of this approach is provided by scientists who study how reductions in Arctic sea ice might reduce levels of algae (which forms on the underside of sea ice) and which might then affect the creatures that consume alga: the plankton, fish and seals further up the food chain. Sea urchins can wipe out a kelp forest so, by eating the sea urchins, otters are keeping the kelp healthy. Urchins along the seafloor. Sea otters eat a lot of shellfish. This top-down picture – with predators influencing the health of plants – is depicted in enthralling detail in his newly published Serendipity: An Ecologist’s Quest to Understand Nature (University of California Press). But most of all, those rich kelp forests – enriched by sea otter activity – play a key role in maintaining global environmental health. Marine otters occupy the intertidal zone that covers the first 100–150 metres (roughly 330–500 feet) of coastal water and about 30 metres (100 feet) inland. This insulates it from the cold. Sea Otter Viewing Tips Here are some viewing tips to help you enjoy watching sea otters and other marine wildlife in a safe and responsible way. But Estes has calculated that healthy kelp forests have the capacity to absorb billions of kilograms of carbon. If left unchecked, these prey species could devour most of the plants in a habitat, causing disastrous knock-on effects and population crashes in birds, insects and mammals. Sea Otter Fact #4: Otters Help Reduce Carbon Dioxide. A third group prefers to forage around in shallow waters for snails. By eating sea urchins in kelp forests and crabs in estuaries, sea otters help keep these ecosystems in balance. The question that intrigued Estes when he began his marine studies in the Aleutians in the 1970s was straightforward: given its voracious appetite for urchins, crabs and the like, what was the ecological consequence of that calamitous drop in sea otters numbers last century? Being one of the few small mammals that live above ground in arctic environments, they have many predators and must therefore breed at a rapid rate to survive. The discovery was important given the nourishment kelp’s underwater forests provide for fish and other sea animals. However, the sea otter’s thick, rich pelt also made it a major target for hunters who, by the 1900s, had brought the animal close to extinction. Sea otters help in preserving the kelp forests that grow underwater How this will occur is yet to be seen. A robust cat population, he argued, would mean that local mouse numbers would be low and that, in turn, would mean there would high numbers of bumble bees – because mice destroy bee combs and nests. In particular, he wondered – in On the Origin of Species – how neighbourhood cats might affect the abundance of flowers in the fields near his house at Downe in Kent. A member of the weasel family, the sea otter (Enhydra lutris) keeps warm in the water because it possesses the densest fur in the animal kingdom – about 850,000 to a … Fortunately, the species had been saved from extinction in the nick of time. President Xi Jinping surprised the international community with China’s pledge to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. Which guild an otter occupies has to do with the depth at which it likes to find food. Otters are surprisingly resilient animals, especially considering their dependence upon healthy watersheds and healthy fish stocks to survive and thrive. Being such a valuable member of the environmental support system makes the otter’s protected status all the more vital. He said the directive will help the government devise a strategic approach to conserving and protecting sea otters on the Pacific coast. The saguaro is a giant cactus native to the Sonoran desert, bridging Central and North America. Sea Otters play an important role in the ecosystem, and may even be mitigating some of the harmful environmental impacts of human activity. Not every scientist accepts it. Most others showed population declines, however. For 20 years we have operated to catalyse social change, to awaken and feed a new state of ecological awareness, to inspire and promote new business and consumption models for people as well as companies. But why? Sea otters reside in the underwater which... 3. Sea otters live in a cold ocean environment and rely on two traits to keep warm: a dense fur coat for insulation and very high metabolism to generate body heat. Sea urchins feed on kelp. Otters … Instead huge urchins littered the barren sea floor, having consumed every kelp plant in sight. It seemed unlikely, given that otter losses were affecting islands that were thousands of miles apart and that some sites were completely unaffected by otter losses. *There are 13 species of otters. The forests of kelp that once grew there in profusion had disappeared. They kept cats, Huxley argued, and those pets would ensure neighbouring fields would be low in mice, high in bees and rich in clover. In fact, they are now recognised as being a keystone species, whose position in food chains is crucial in maintaining the ecological health of an area. And just as sea otter numbers dropped, so urchins reappeared on the sea floor and kelp forests began to disappear again. Sea Otters. Thus, in removing sea otters from the north Pacific, humanity – in its pursuit of fur for hats, gloves and coats – had not only grievously endangered the species, it had disrupted a large chunk of the marine environment in the Pacific and – for good measure – damaged our ability to deal with the impact of rising carbon dioxide levels on our planet. A member of the weasel family, the sea otter (Enhydra lutris) keeps warm in the water because it possesses the densest fur in the animal kingdom – about 850,000 to a … So Estes looked at the history of other related species in the region and uncovered a startling picture. Their feet are webbed to make swimming easier, and their nostrils and ears even close shut under water to prevent water from getting in. Last modified on Thu 22 Mar 2018 00.00 GMT. Sea otters feed on sea urchins, crabs and other shellfish, cracking them open with stones before eating them. Fish thrive in kelp forests, as do mussel beds, for example. Many believe sustainability is becoming an urgent need, whilst others see it first and foremost as a duty. It is therefore vital for the health of many tropical ecosystems that jaguars control herbivore numbers. Otters serve a key role in maintaining healthy kelp forests along the California coast. Sea otters floating in kelp. During the night beavers work using mud, stone and timber to build spectacular dams. Just about every strand of ocean life that Estes looked at was touched in some way. By controlling sea urchin populations which feed upon the kelp, they help to protect habitat for many other species including fish, birds and other marine mammals. Within these forests, sea otters prey on sea urchins, which graze heavily on kelp. harles Darwin once mused on the impacts that predators could have on the landscapes around them. How do you think sea otters help by eating sea urchins? Sea otters manage populations of other marine species by feeding on them “Kelp forests, with their high biomass and extreme productivity are key controlling elements of coast ecosystems,” says Estes. Since then, the sea otter has become an important poster species for the ecology movement: a lovable, cuddly sea mammal that was saved from extinction thanks to international action. As an organization, FSO understands the interconnectivity of the Earth and its ecosystems. Estes has spent most of his working life in the Aleutian Islands, which stretch across the North Pacific Ocean from Alaska to the coast of Kamchatka in eastern Russia. sea otters Climate change, predators, and the trickle down effects on ecosystems Ecologists are just beginning to understand how the impacts of climate change are affecting predatory keystone species and their ecosystems. A new study raises the alarm on the Great Barrier Reef: in 25 years half of its corals have been lost, mainly due to climate change. “Something had changed, but I didn’t know what,” he says. At least that was how it seemed in the 80s and 90s. Sea otters live in a cold ocean environment and rely on two traits to keep warm: a dense fur coat for insulation and very high metabolism to generate body heat. Sea otters feed on sea urchins, crabs and other shellfish, cracking them open with stones before eating them. Antarctica is becoming more accessible, so much so that tourism has seen a 53 per cent increase in the last four years. Sea otters eat sea urchins, and sea urchins eat kelp, and kelp forests are where lots of animals live. One example: … “Before industrial whaling, killer whales were sustained by feeding on the immense biomass of great whales in the North Pacific and southern Bering Sea,” says Estes. A sea otter rests on its back with its head, arms and flippers in the air, and looks like two lumps close together. Southern sea otters can live to approximately 15 years for males and 16 years for females. American marine biologist James Estes has recently unveiled that sea otters, marine mammals native to the coasts of the North Pacific Ocean, contribute to saving our planet. The sea otter ecosystem is largely made up of thick kelp forests. Sea urchins are like vacuum cleaners of the ocean floor. 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