Sea Otters Research Paper

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

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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

There are 16 different breeds of otters. Sea otter, Eurasian otter, Lutra, Lontra, oriental small clawed otter, Giant otter, smooth-coated otter, African clawless otter, Northern River otter, Asian small clawed otter, Congo clawless otter, marine otter, neotropical otter, South American otter, spotted-necked otter, and hairy nosed otter. This animal is pretty much always near water, they are usually found near both freshwater and coastal marine, such as, lakes, rivers, inland wetlands, coastal shorelines, marshes, and estuaries. Otters can be found in North America & other places as well. Otters eat fish, crabs, sea urchins, abalones, clams, mussels, and snails. They are preyed on by bobcats, coyotes, mountain lions, wolves, black bears, and

The reading suggests that two possible causes: the environmental pollution and predators attacks. However, the lecture defends that is more probabily is the predators attacks.

Steller sea lions (Eumetiopias jubatus) are the only member of Eumetiopias and are one of the biggest of the eared seals. Steller sea lions feed mainly on fish, and sometimes even various types of shellfish. Many Steller sea lions can be found along the coast of Western Alaska. Generally, Western Alaska has relatively warm summers, cold winters, and mild temperatures during the spring and fall, with the highest amounts of rainfall during the summertime. Steller sea lions have recently come under the scope of many researchers because of their sudden and significant decline of population in recent times. In some places such as the Aleutian Islands, which is an island chain found in the Western part of Alaska, the population of Steller sea lions

In the listening passage, professor focuses on 1 effect of rapidely declining of sea otters in Alaska coast in North America has more affect. In the reading passage, 2 causes of this event are presented. One of them is pollotion that is made by chemical factories and also attacing predators such as seals, sea lions, and orca. The professor emphasis that attaching prdators has more effection on declining sea lion rather than pollotion. She has some reasons for supporting his oponion. First one is that there are a few chemical factories and also the amount of their pollotion is low therefore, pollotion has weak affect on death of sea otters. Second one is that the predator animals disappear due to their changing diet. Third one is that in some

River Otters are a species found on 5 out of 7 continents in the world. They have short legs that allow them to swim, walk, groom, and manipulate their pray effectively. Generally, they are various shades of brown, but they have a darker dorsal, and a lighter ventral. Their head, eyes, ears, nose, and teeth are beneficial for them when hunting prey, and when being hunted. River Otters have unique characteristics, features, and lifestyles that allow them to be not only adorable, but important to many ecosystems.

A chestnut colored, furry blur races past you as you are paddling your boat in a North American lake. You wonder what it could be! It is a river otter. In this essay, I will be telling you about this interesting member of the weasel family.

The article claims that the population of the sea otter has declined because of pollution, pradators and, uneven pattern of ocean currents. On the other hand, the professor does not believe factors of why otters dissappered and opposes each reason.

The bottlenose dolphin, genus Tursiops, is a cetacean renowned for its social intelligence, even being prescribed the status of non-human persons along with other intelligent species such as great apes. Both dolphins and primates share a number of attributes that have led to an evolutionary propensity for intelligence, including prolonged parental care, long lives, complex social bonds, and communicative cooperation (Reynolds et al., 2000). But unlike primates, dolphins lack opposable thumbs, as well as any sort of limb that is able to manipulate their environment capably. Dolphins evolved in an environment that is less affected by gravity and provides three-dimensional movement, but provides limited chemosensory and visual cues for orientation

Sea otters are a very important species, they effect a lot of animals, and even humans! First the author wrote, the reserch follows ona disturbing trend: Northern sea otters in alaska have been dieing… scientists say bacteria is to blame. The bacteria that is killing sea otters is in the water, which means it can affect our

Finally, the unpatterned of sea otter decline is attriputed to Orca hunting area accessibility not due to water pollution as the reading indicated. The professor mentions that, due to it large body size, Orca can not access shellow water or rocky area. However, they hunts perfectely in a deep water. Therefore, sea otters number increase in shellow water and rocky areas and decline at deep water. Thus, this explain the unpatterned of sea otter decline.

The presence or absence of sea otters influences marine ecology at the community-level. Studies have shown that kelp forests enhance the underwater environment, providing a suitable habitat for fishes. The declining kelp beds in California in the mid 1900’s propelled the Kelp Habitat Improvement Project, whereby attempts were made to eliminate sea urchins that are primary predators of kelps. Studies showed that the elimination of sea otters during the 1800s from the Californian waters might be responsible for the dwindling numbers of kelp forests. Further studies have also shown that the population density of sea otters affects seaweed biodiversity as well. In a study conducted in Alaska on three different bays, the Torch Bay, Deer Harbor and the Surge Bay, it was found that the presence of sea otters led to a decrease in the population of sea urchins, which led to an increase in the population of seaweeds. In addition, it was also found that annual kelps predominated the areas where sea otters were present, and perennial kelps predominated in areas that had lesser sea otter populations (qtd. in “Interaction with kelps & sea otters”).