Sea otters are more than just photogenic fluff balls known for floating on their backs with buoyant fur and eating about 25 percent of their body weight in one day. They are also potentially strengthening the health of California’s kelp forests. A study published January 18 in the journal PLOS Climate found that the sea otter population is significant in regions where kelp forest canopy has increased over more than a century. The study suggests that sea otter populations kept the kelp forests more resilient. This research reinforces why conservation and recovery of the threatened southern sea otter is important and highlights some solutions to restoring California’s famed kelp forests.
[Related: These otters learn how to snag snacks by watching their friends.]
Why this big seaweed is a big deal
Kelp is a large, brown algae that lives in relatively shallow waters close to shore. They grow in large groups that resemble forests on land. These kelp forests are important because they contain a greater variety and higher diversity of plants and animals than most of almost any other community in the world’s oceans. Fish, sea birds, seals, small marine invertebrates, and more use the thick blades of kelp as a safe shelter for their young and even take shelter in them during storms. They also provide a barrier against coastal erosion for the mainland. In the Western Pacific Ocean, Kelp forests predominantly grow from Alaska and Canada south to the waters of Baja California, Mexico.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), they also provide humans with a habitat for commercially important fishery species including kelp bass and black rockfish.
Some of the primary threats to kelp forests include runoff from chemicals and sewage on land, rising ocean temperatures, overharvesting, and invasive species.
More sea otters, more kelp
The study looked at changes to the kelp canopy from 1910 to 2016….
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