The Threats To Sea Otters

Bull kelps have strands about 30 meters long with floats to help keep the algae close to the surface within reach of the sunlight. Because California has a consideration amount of sunlight, the giant kelp can be found along the coastal regions. Because of this, California sea otters gather in the kelp forest and snooze during spring. To prevent themselves from being drift away by tides and currents, they anchor themselves by scraps of kelp around their body. In some aspects, sea otters are guardians of the region. Several creatures that shelter in the kelp have to venture in the opening to feed, like the bat ray. They feed in the sandy floor of the open sea, they use jet of water to blown the sand away and expose invertebrates. They will either eat or be

The lecture explained how the population of sea otters declined, due to the environmental pollution. First, the oil rigs along the Alaskan coat serve as an indication to pollution. This directly refutes the reading passage which states that predation was most likely the reason, since the bodies of the dead sea otters didn't wash on the shores.Secondly, the passage mention that the water samples that were extracted from the sea revealed the presence of chemicals. Again, this contradicts with the lecture which claims that the whales which the otters consume were not available anymore. Which had forced the sea otters to change their diet to include small sea animals. Thirdly, the lecture mentions that the decrease in sea otters population was

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,

Canadians take pride in many things whether it is a national sport, tradition or culture. But why do Canadians turn a blind eye on Seal Hunting? Do they feel bad for the animals? Do they take seal hunting as a form of animal cruelty? Or do they just don’t want to shine a light on it because it is considered a national disgrace among many Canadians?

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

The negative human impacts on harbor seals are devastating, and there are yet to be any major positive impacts. In the 1900s, fur traders would hunt harbor seal pups that were less than four weeks old for their fine coats, which were highly valued. This led to a decrease in the harbor seal population. Harbor seals were also hunted by salmon fishermen who saw the seals as competitors for the fish. After a while many harbor seal populations had to abandon traditional haul-out areas. This was sad for the seals, because the main diet of a harbor seal is fish.

In this article “saving the sea otters is just part of her normal day at work” by Kitson Jazynka My Opinion was that I think a lot of the sea mammals are dying because the bacteria in the water. First of all,”Otters in Alaska have been dying at a higher than normal rate over the past 10 years.”This quote

The reading passage tries to give some reasons to show that the number of sea otters, a small mammal living along the western coast of North America, has significantly declined because of the environmental pollution. On the other hand, the professor on the lecture looks at this concept through a different lens and believes that attacking by the predators like orca are possible for this problem.

levels of chemicals which might have caused the decline of sea Otters. However, the lecture argues that Predation theory is

SInce the dawn of time humans have been constantly evolving and at the same time ravaging the earth. The Otters know this, which is why the Otters see the humans as a great threat, but on the other side

Sea Otter's are members of the weasel family can be found along the coast of North America. A sea otter spends most of its time in the water and the rest of time it comes to land to sleep. Sea Otter floats on its back to the land and sleeps like that also. They have webbed feet. Their fur keeps them warm and it doesn't shed. Sea Otter's is one of the smallest marine mammal. They have a large amount of different adaptations. These different adaptations help them survive in their marine environment. Their long whiskers help the, detect vibrations in water and sensitive forepaws. Their claws helps them groom themselves and capture their prey underwater. The male is bigger than the female. Sea Otters have a high metabolism they eat 25% of their weight in food each day . They are also known for eating a clam and a rock that has been gently caught from the ocean floor. The otters place the rock on their chest and constantly smash the shellfish against it until it breaks. Once its broken they eat it . They also like to eat crabs , squid , octopus, and fish.

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”).