Sea otters are creatures steeped in superlatives. Since then, researchers have learned more about the complementary roles that other sea urchin predators, like sea stars, play in controlling overgrazing by sea urchins, but the conclusion that sea otters defend kelp patches and help to promote eventual regrowth has not changed. A lock () or https:// means youve safely connected to the .gov website. 12201 Sunrise Valley Drive Reston, VA 20192, Indirect food web interactions: Sea otters and kelp forest fishes in the Aleutian archipelago, S.E. Female sea otters give birth in water to only one young at a time, and the young remains dependent on the mother until six to eight months of age. The population off Big Sur was the most isolated of all of these, separated from any other surviving sea otters by about 2,000 miles. Because of the high rate of uptake of atmospheric CO2, it has been hypothesized that sea otters might increase the rate Crabs eat animals that clean the estuary's sea grass of algae, which is caused by farm pollution. Since then, conservation efforts have allowed the otters to rebound somewhat, but some 2,500 miles (4,000km) of coastline in their historic range is still devoid of the furry mammals. She has also written for Science,Massive ScienceandAsk Dr. Universe, a science column for kids. The .gov means its official. When the mustelids bring down the numbers of crabs, grazing organisms that the crabs eat rebound. While some Native peoples within the sea otters range had traditionally conducted local hunting of sea otters, the scale of slaughter in the maritime fur trade was unprecedented, nearly eliminating sea otters from their global range. What participants took away was the deep connection between kelp forest ecosystems, urchins and sea otters as a keystone species. Questions or comments on this article? Direct and indirect effects of temperature and prey abundance on bald eagle reproductive dynamics. A new study shows how the high metabolism of adult and baby sea otters begins at the cellular level. Overall, I think the capstone project was quite successful and has received lots of great feedback. Int J Parasitol. 2005 Oct;35(11-12):1155-68. doi: 10.1016/j.ijpara.2005.07.002. As sea otters have been reintroduced or naturally recovered in other coastal areas of North America, they have substantially disturbed the structure and dynamics of nearshore foodwebs. A lightning talk is a very short presentation (5 minutes) and requires the presenter to be brief, clear and succinct. Environ Monit Assess. Indirect effects of sea otter recovery on temperate reef fish This story was produced with additional reporting by Katarina Zimmer. The eeriness did not end there: during a boat ride, one of Rashers colleagues pointed to a cove where he had seen hundreds of sea otters splashing in the frigid water in the 1970s. Kelp, urchins, carbon, indigenous participation, and reintroduction are part of the answer. 2006 Jan;146(4):623-31. doi: 10.1007/s00442-005-0230-1. In the absence of sea otters, these areas would have an NPP of 25-70 g C m 2 yr 1 and biomass density of 8-14 g C m 2. For general feedback, use the public comments section below (please adhere to guidelines). Ocean Sciences Building, Box 355351 Seattle, WA 98195, uwpcc@uw.edu But researchers didnt understand the cellular origins of that revved-up metabolism for heat generation, Wright says. The loss or recovery of apex predators can have profound positive or negative ecological and socio-economic impacts. The events are designed to directly align with the Aquariums mission, to inspire conservation of the marine environment. Clipboard, Search History, and several other advanced features are temporarily unavailable. Science. of carbon sequestration through their positive indirect effect on kelp (Wilmers et al., 2012). It is published by the Society for Science, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) membership organization dedicated to public engagement in scientific research and education (EIN 53-0196483). Indirect effects of sea otters on rockfish (Sebastes spp.) in giant The southern sea otter has reclaimed only about 13% of its historical range, and its population size is far below its estimated historical population size in California, about 17,000 (though it could be as low as 10,000 or as high as 30,000), a number that does not include the historical populations in Oregon and Baja California. Indirect effects of sea otter recovery on temperate reef fish, Graduating extended essay / Research project, Resource and Environmental Management Theses. It feels like a ghost town, says Rasher, a researcher at the nonprofit Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences. Before Continue reading with a Scientific American subscription. Before the fur trade, the range of sea otters spanned the entire North Pacific rim, from the northern islands of Japan to midway down the Pacific Coast of Baja California, Mexico. Indirect effects and prey behavior mediate interactions between an endangered prey and recovering predator. The appetite of the sea otter is a threat to individual abalone who have not hidden themselves in deep rocky crevices, but where sufficient crevice habitat is available, this same appetite brings benefits to abalone populations. sharing sensitive information, make sure youre on a federal These data allow us to evaluate trade-offs elicited by sea otter recovery and devise management plans for temperate reef systems that incorporate realistic timelines for changes to kelp forest communities. Bald eagles and sea otters in the Aleutian Archipelago: indirect Heres how, A sapphire Schrdingers cat shows that quantum effects can scale up, how otters meet the challenge of staying warm at sea, Other marine mammals have high metabolisms to cope with cold water, eating 25 percent of their body mass in food every day. Recent work in British Columbia has shown that the economic benefits of sea otter restoration stemming from finfish increases, carbon sequestration, and ecotourism outweigh the costs many times over, about sevenfold. They note that markets have been established in Europe and the United States to trade carbon credits and thus inject an economic incentive into either reducing CO2 output or increasing CO2 sequestration. If prey species in sea otter habitat decline due to changing temperatures, this would reduce available food for otters. Bringing sea otters back to the Pacific coast pays off, but not for everyone, How kelp forests off California are responding to an urchin takeover, 50 years ago, atomic testing created otter refugees, Heres what we know about upcoming vaccines and antibodies against RSV, Pets and people bonded during the pandemic. Sea otters (Enhydra lutris) are a small mammal in the weasel family. How sea otters can fight climate change - BBC Future Direct effects can be thought of as any change to prey availability via sea otter predation directly, while indirect effects can be thought of an any alteration to the broader ecosystem (i.e. Every print subscription comes with full digital access. The final registration number was 1,005 people. This is what makes them a "keystone" species without their presence, the stability of the entire ecosystem can be lost. At 2012 prices (US$47 per ton of C . If urchin populations grow unchecked, they can graze down a kelp forest very quickly, called a trophic cascade. Beyond species-specific considerations, any reintroduction effort must consider ecosystem-level implications. In 2012, a team of ecologists including Estes published a study on the potential for sea otter carbon sequestration in the North Pacific between the Aleutian archipelago and Vancouver Island. Nest use dynamics of an undisturbed population of bald eagles. Sea otters can greatly affect the environment they live in. The most widely studied and well-known pathway is from sea otters to herbivorous macroinvertebrates (primarily urchins) to kelp and other macroalgae (Estes and Palmisano 1974, Duggins 1980, Breen et al. Explore our digital archive back to 1845, including articles by more than 150 Nobel Prize winners. Most of the participants go so far as to consider climate impacts when they make decisions in their personal lives. Few other animals eat as much relative to their weight or play such a pivotal role in maintaining their environment, says Brent Hughes, a marine ecologist studying coastal habitats at Sonoma State University in California. Fish and Wildlife Service listed the southern sea otter as threatened. Simenstad. They will remain accessible to anyone who wants to watch them in the future. See how sea otters maintain the balance of kelp-forest ecosystems by consuming sea urchins, Wild Words from the Animal Kingdom Vocabulary Quiz, This article was most recently revised and updated by, Abundant Animals: The Most Numerous Organisms in the World, Falling Stars: 10 of the Most Famous Endangered Species, https://www.britannica.com/animal/sea-otter, International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. A version of this article appears in the August 14, 2021 issue of Science News. Breeding success and productivity of Bald Eagles also increased during this time period, which may be due to the higher nutritional quality of avian prey consumed in later years. Our mission is to provide accurate, engaging news of science to the public. A new study by two UC Santa Cruz researchers suggest that a thriving sea otter population that keeps sea urchins in check will in turn allow kelp forests to prosper. Sea otters began slowly and methodically to expand their range to the north and south of Bixby Cove. Unlike its northern cousin, however, the marine otter spends much more time on land, where it makes its dens in sea caves, along windswept beaches, or in gaps within rock outcrops. Although these ecological discoveries are relatively recent, the relationships between sea otters and other organisms in the nearshore North Pacific, with whom they coevolved for millions of years, are ancient. Staff login, Expand Climate Minor Testing Page Section. Skeletal muscle makes up 40 to 50 percent of most mammals body mass, so it affects the whole bodys metabolism. (PDF) Oxygen consumption, thermoregulation, and the effect of fur Science News was founded in 1921 as an independent, nonprofit source of accurate information on the latest news of science, medicine and technology. Skeletal muscle thermogenesis enables aquatic life in the smallest marine mammal. Oecologia. subsequent decline in sea otter populations in the central Aleutian Archipelago. Even at a lower estimate, sea otter carbon sequestration can add up. The spreading kelp can. Climate change-amplified temperature anomalies pose an imminent threat to coral reef ecosystems. Sea otters have likely exerted evolutionary and ecological effects on North Pacific eelgrass meadows since at least the mid-Pleistocene (~600 to 700 thousand years ago) (19, 22). Sea otters feed mainly on sea urchins and on crabs and other shellfish. MA-043219 to R. Davis), 1719 N Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036, Neuroscientists decoded peoples thoughts using brain scans, Mouse hair turns gray when certain stem cells get stuck, Here are 5 cool findings from a massive project on 240 mammal genomes, Fentanyl deaths have spiked among U.S. children and teens, Satellite data reveal nearly 20,000 previously unknown deep-sea mountains, Thawing permafrost may unleash industrial pollution across the Arctic, Ultrasound reveals trees drought-survival secrets, Seismic waves crossing Mars core reveal details of the Red Planets heart, Rocky planets might have been able to form in the early universe, Cosmic antimatter hints at origins of huge bubbles in our galaxys center, Black holes resolve paradoxes by destroying quantum states, These worms can escape tangled blobs in an instant. Jaime Chambers was a 2021 AAAS Mass Media Fellow with Science News. Bethesda, MD 20894, Web Policies Sensors Hint They Do. FOIA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZmiqJ12Mms, Autumn 2021 Current Climate Change Research Seminar: IPCC AR6 WG1 Chapter Summaries, Winter 2021 Current Climate Change Research Seminar: A PCC/CHanGE Partnership, Spring 2022 Current Climate Change Research Seminar: IPCC AR6 WG2, Cooperative Institute for Climate, Ocean, & Ecosystem Studies. Unauthorized use of these marks is strictly prohibited. sea otter, (Enhydra lutris), also called great sea otter, completely marine otter species of the northern Pacific, usually found in kelp beds. Read about our approach to external linking. The intent was to create a second population that could provide sea otters to replenish the mainland range in the event of a catastrophic oil spill. Whereas urchin-dominated communities supported more diverse fish assemblages than kelp-dominated communities, this was not a simple effect of the otter-induced trophic cascade because all islands supported more diverse fish assemblages in 2000 than in the mid-1980s. In 1913, California declared the sea otter a fully protected mammal. That designation made it a high misdemeanor to kill or possess them. A. Estes, C.A. University of California - Santa Cruz. Its in their muscles. This site uses cookies to assist with navigation, analyse your use of our services, collect data for ads personalisation and provide content from third parties. But these perpetually hungry mammals don't only protect kelp ecosystems. 2009 May;152(1-4):357-67. doi: 10.1007/s10661-008-0321-7. And when older roots die, the carbon becomes locked in the sediments, where it can take hundreds of years or more to convert back to its gaseous form. This story was updated August 24, 2021, to correct the description of surface area's effect on heat loss. Rising ocean temperatures and acidification are compounding the damage. Comparing kelp density with otters and kelp density without otters, they found that "sea otters have a positive indirect effect on kelp biomass by preying on sea urchins, a kelp grazer." Ecosystem Effects of Sea Otters . After wolves were reintroduced in 1995, though, they became the main cause of elk mortality and created a steadier carrion supply that helped sustain other animals throughout the cold months. In a study on black abalone, which were listed as endangered in 2009 due to the combined effects of past overharvesting and a devastating disease called withering syndrome, researchers found that the highest densities of black abalone occurred in areas with the highest densities of sea otters. 2018). of carbon sequestration through their positive indirect effect on kelp ( Wilmers et al., 2012 ). In the 1960s, they reached the waters of Gorda and San Simeon, north of Morro Bay, prime fishing grounds for a lucrative commercial abalone fishery that had begun in earnest after World War II. Along with it goes the habitat for numerous species, including fish, invertebrates and other mammals. These leaks account for a higher percentage of muscle cells total respiratory capacity in extremely small mice compared with otters. When present, sea otters eat so many urchins that the invertebrate's population stays low. conservation efforts have allowed the otters to rebound, Their massive appetites can diminish fishing opportunities, outweighs the losses to shellfish fisheries, compensate fishers for losses in their catch, Find out more about how we calculated this figure here. Bookshelf Sea otters were hunted to the brink in the 19th Century fur trade, but their numbers have been slowly recovering since. That means it's pulling carbon from the atmosphere faster than a slower growing plant (though kelp is technically an alga). The site is secure. T. Wright (Image obtained under USFWS Marine MammalPermitNo. In 2020, echoing language of the MMPA, the U.S. Congress recognized that sea otters play a critical ecological role in the marine environment as a keystone species that significantly affects the structure structure Something temporarily or permanently constructed, built, or placed; and constructed of natural or manufactured parts including, but not limited to, a building, shed, cabin, porch, bridge, walkway, stair steps, sign, landing, platform, dock, rack, fence, telecommunication device, antennae, fish cleaning table, satellite dish/mount, or well head. Thanks for reading Scientific American. 4. The Service aims to be inclusive, thoughtful, and scientifically rigorous as we consider actions to support sea otter recovery and ecosystem restoration now and in the future. 2018 Jun 27;8(15):7346-7354. doi: 10.1002/ece3.4259. For the survey, 224 people participated out of a potential of 364 viewers (61.4%). Official websites use .gov Other mammals including extremely small mice with high metabolisms can also generate heat this way. The money to be made sparked a multinational fur rush, involving Russian, Japanese, Spanish, British, and American traders. They are a keystone species, which means they have a big impact on keeping their ecosystem balanced. And a 2020 study found that the monetary benefit of sea otters due their restoration of kelp habitat and associated increase in fish stocks, carbon sequestration, and ecotourism value outweighs the losses to shellfish fisheries. The study discovered that sea otters contribute indirectly to the prevention of agricultural runoff. This could be a game changer in terms of how we think about the evolution of all marine mammals, not just sea otters, says Terrie Williams, an ecophysiologist at the University of California, Santa Cruz, who was not involved in the study. are a small mammal in the weasel family. Floating on its back, it opens mollusks by smashing them on a stone balanced on its chest. The sea otters keystone role in nearshore marine ecosystems was first recognized in 1974, initiating an extensive body of work on sea otters indirect effects, including increases in the abundance of kelp-associated finfish. She delights in all things creeping, crawling and curious, and studies human-dog coevolution as an anthropology Ph.D. student at Washington State University. 8600 Rockville Pike 2006. 2013). Understanding the full impacts of warming requires factoring in the complexity of ecosystems. We found no evidence that sea otter occupation time or any other factor tested affected rockfish or greenling density observed on underwater visual surveys. Understanding sea otter effects through complexity They wanted to learn about how they can help, to feel inspired, and to connect with other like-minded people. During the event, we received 395 chat messages in the YouTube live chat and had 364 concurrent viewers at the peak. (C) duration (sec) Otter Water J2 J1 B7 B9 M3 D4 B8 4 8 8 12 12 16 20 y 63 75 84 91 101 110 115 We want to determine if water temperature is useful Net range expansion has not occurred in more than 20 years, due largely to increasing mortality of sea otters caused by white shark bites, especially at the northern and southern ends of the central California range.
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