Keystone Species Essay

The area of research that I have selected is the effects of overfishing in the Sea Otter ecosystem off the coast of California. The effects caused by the fishing pressure on the ecosystem will have different outcomes, depending on the strength and the types of relationships of the organisms present. (4) Red Abalone populations have declined drastically, to the point of the abalone fishery collapse. Several factors have led up to the collapse including Withering Syndrome, where the organism loses the ability to attach itself to rocks, making it more susceptible to predation, or the organism can eventually wither and starve to death. Sea Urchins and Red Abalone are a part of the same ecosystem, and are competitors of each other.(5) Both organisms graze on macroalgae and are a primary food source for Sea Otters. Sea Otters occurred from the North Pacific Rim down to Baja California, Mexico, but now only occur in small isolated patches (9) It is understood that Sea Otter presence can characterize community structure, where they can control and determine the size of Sea Urchin and Red Abalone populations. In the absence of Sea Otters, “Urchin Barrens” are created from the overgrazing of macroalgae by Sea Urchin. In these areas the ecosystem have changed dramatically, due to the overfishing, or in this case the over hunting, of Sea Otters causing a trophic cascade.(7)In some areas, Sea Otters have been reintroduced, in other areas they were never removed, and in others they

Sea Otters as well as many other species are in danger because of Climate Change.The sudden change in climate has disturbed the ocean’s temperature which causes an insufficient amount of food for sea otters which causes the otters to be malnourished and starved. Because of the change in climate there has been a decrease in the amount of harp seals (Foley, 2013) which happens to be the killer whales main prey, because of this the killer whales have now turned to sea otters. Other likely threats to sea otters because of climate change are ocean acidification in the north Pacific, pathogen transport, marine invasive species, biotoxins withdrawn in bivalve prey, and the recurrence and intensity of storm events (Doroff and Burdin, 2015) . Sea otters have a noticeably solid influence on the wealth of kelp through the impact they have on sea urchins, said James A. Estes, a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of California, Santa Cruz who was a co-author on Schmitz 's 2014 review and on the original sea otter study. Otters eat urchins. Urchins eat kelp. So in ocean patches where otters are bountiful, urchin populations collapse and kelp tends to thrive (Estes,Cruz and Schmitz,2014). The study, led by Wilmers and published in 2012, found that across the otter 's range the animal could be indirectly at fault for getting rid of as much as 8.7 million tons of carbon dioxide, more than twice what an average

In a documentary film directed by Bill Wisenski, “Threatened: The Controversial Struggle of the Southern Sea Otter,” it reveals some of the reasons why the California sea otter population is declining. In addition, it shows the controversy surrounding the “No Otter Zone”. Furthermore, it ensures why the California sea otter population is important to the marine ecosystem. In the film, sea otter populations are endangered because of the significant impact by some human factors. In the 1700’s and 1800’s, fur traders hunted sea otter population to near extinction. Besides this, threatened events such as shipping and drilling oil across the Pacific and along coastal areas; the California sea otters is vulnerable to oil contamination. As a result,

Firstly, the author states that pollution sources such as oil rigs near Alaskan beaches is killing the sea otters. Also, a research held on water samples in the area showed that it contains high levels of chemicals that may indirectly kill the otters. This view is objected by the lecturer. He proposes that Orcas use the animals as source of food, that is why there are no signs of dead otters on shores of Alaska, which would however be

Southern sea otter lives in kelp forests (a type of seaweed) along the Pacific coast, mainly off the coast of California. The marine mammals consume on average one-fourth of its weight daily including sea urchins, which are vital to support the kelp forests. By the result of sea otters preying on sea urchins, the consumption of kelp by sea urchins are kept at a constant rate allowing the forest to grow and thrive. This is highly important for biodiversity in the sea that is provided by the kelp forest, which is a key component of the three principles of sustainability. There are three ways that human can do to help prevent the premature extinction of southern sea otters. First, ethical issue that consists of the species being seen as vital

Sea otters are a keystone species, meaning their role in their environment has a greater effect than other species. As predators, sea otters are critical to maintaining the balance of the near-shore kelp ecosystems. Without sea otters, the undersea animals they prey on would devour the kelp forests off the coast that provide cover and food for many other marine animals. Additionally, sea otters indirectly help to reduce levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide, a prevalent greenhouse gas, as kelp forests play an important role in capturing carbon in coastal ecosystems

Sea otters (Enhydra lutris) are marine mammals capable of spending their entire lives in water. Being carnivorous in nature, they feed on sea urchins, crabs, fishes, mussels and clams. They are referred to as keystone species due to their profound impact on marine ecology. The interaction between sea otters, sea urchins and kelp forests has been studied as a model of the impact of predator-prey interaction on community ecology. Sea otters are keystone predators, whose presence has a far-reaching influence on the marine food web by affecting the population of sea urchins in particular, and kelp forests & other marine organisms in general. There has been a steep decline in sea otter populations due to water pollution and exploitation for

A keystone species is a species that has a disproportionate effect on its environment relative to its abundance. Such an organism plays a role in its ecosystem that is analogous to the role of a keystone in an arch. While the keystone feels the least pressure of any of the stones in an arch, the arch still collapses without it. Similarly, an ecosystem may experience a dramatic shift if a keystone species is removed, even though that species was a small part of the ecosystem by measures of biomass or productivity. It has become a very popular concept in conservation biology.

The intertidal rocky shore of Caloundra Beach is inhabited by diverse range of biodiversity of animals and plants, many of which have developed high levels of adaptations throughout their existence. The very boundary of marine and terrestrial ecosystem, this environment is subjected to extremes of the physical environment such as temperature, desiccation, wave turbulence as well the ecological interactions that commonly occur in biotic communities (e.g. competition, predation). However Rocky intertidal shores are easily accessible by humans and provide an enjoyable opportunity for passive recreation and for science and environmental education as well.

Phytoplankton and Giant Kelp are two protists found in “Seasonal Seas”. Phytoplankton are the main primary producers found in the ocean. Spring is usually when phytoplankton bloom, which is known as the “spring bloom”. When too many nutrients are available, phytoplankton may grow out of control and form harmful algal blooms. Phytoplankton provide food for copepods, and they in turn are prey to jellyfish. This all contributes to the giant food web in the ocean. Phytoplankton utilize light and nutrients from the surface of the water which helps them get nutrients and live longer. Because of their dependency on the sun, they are found floating near the surface of the water. They are extremely dependent on minerals found in the ocean. The main two types of phytoplankton include the diatoms and dinoflagellates. Some of them can thrive in different conditions which means that primary consumers can get plenty of phytoplankton throughout the year. Phytoplankton also play an essential role in the

I thoroughly enjoyed reading your “Combat Biology” essay. The fact that you are able to see the big picture of conservation and the different stakeholders is a welcome change from other professors who are too focused on their specific concentration within the larger realm of conservation. In my opinion, you have given our current higher-education system too much credit. Even as a Human Dimensions major, my classes have focused overwhelmingly on the ecological dimension, and touched only slightly on human and economic dimensions. However, this does not worry me, it just means I have a lot to learn from you this semester! I have always loved plants, wildlife, and beautiful landscapes, and by the time I reached high school I knew that I wanted

Acres and acres of irreplaceable forests and wetland taken away for one purpose: more money. PolyMet wants to build a copper-nickel mine in northern Minnesota. They don’t want to just build this mine on a black field in northern Minnesota but on Chippewa National Forest. PolyMet does own the mining rights of this specific chunk of land, but USFS owns the land on top. I think this mine is a terrible idea because it will create both land disturbances and air and water pollution.

Since the beginning of life itself, some species have lived and prospered while other species have gone extinct never to be seen again by mankind. Because of this, some would claim that extinction is natural and not significantly problematic to the world that we live in. Others, however, understand that due to climate change, habitat loss, and poaching, more and more species are becoming endangered which leads to a chain reaction that can be devastating to ecosystems. Species such as the Chinook salmon, gorillas, tropical sharks, and polar bears are all directly affected by climate change, species such as northern spotted owls, Sumatran tigers, and lemurs are greatly harmed due to habitat loss, and species such as the sea turtle, Javan rhinoceros, African elephant, and the Red-Fronted Macaw are all affected by poaching driving them all closer and closer to becoming extinct.

Sea Otters contribute towards the overall health and well-being of the ecosystem they inhabit. The sea otter is an important predator in the nearshore marine ecosystem of the North Pacific Ocean. It is considered a “keystone” species in the ecosystem. They limit the prey populations of a variety of marine invertebrates that reside near the shore. Sea otters “have large-scale community effects disproportionate to their abundance.” (Carswell and Long, 2). Their main prey consists of sea urchins and abalone. Sea urchins and abalone devour the kelp forests that run along the coasts of California. Sea otters contribute to kelp production by eating these invertebrates, thus where there are sea otters, kelp forests spread along the continental shelf. The California kelp forests have the greatest biodiversity of the temperate latitudes (Recarte) “Kelp forests are the Ocean’s rainforest” (Recarte). Sea Otters are considered a sentinel species, which means their fitness reveals the health of the ecosystem. Contaminants in the ocean have a large effect on Sea Otters. These contaminants cause biomagnification because of the lack of enzymes to break down and expel the toxins. Examples of contaminants that affect Sea

Simultaneously, thousands of other species across the globe face the same threat: extinction. Biodiversity is an essential part of our world, our global ecosystem. As Planet Earth?s resources diminish and its creatures vanish, those who recognize the need to preserve what is disappearing look to international politics to accomplish what individuals cannot. The most important instrument for implementation of international policy has been the Convention On International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which went into effect in 1975.